Broken Dream
by Angkeats
Summary: Troy Bolton was on the cusp of becoming a star player for the Albuquerque Aces Basketball Team, when a car accident left him practically crippled. Gabriella Montez is assigned as his health worker to help Troy out of his angry, bitter existence.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone**

**Ok you might get bored of reading it but I don't get bored of saying it THANK YOU for your kind words and bolstering my confidence with my writing.**

**I love that you like Troyella fanfic as that was my first TG story. This is another one of my faves aswell as another new one I haven't posted yet.**

**I am working on a Zac fanfic for Zefron at the moment and I have a new TG idea for after that so please keep reading!**

**TY**

**CHAPTER 1**

Gabi stood outside the modest house situated in Albuquerque, knocking on the door and taking a nervous breath as she waited patiently for the door to be answered by the inhabitants.

She already knew that Linda and Jack Bolton would be here, but this wasn't their house, it was their son's house and it was him she was ultimately here to see.

She had Troy Bolton's case file under her arm and she juggled it with nervous hands.

Troy had been through three different occupational health visitors already. She knew from his file that he was an excellent basketball player who was at the cusp of becoming a star player of the Albuquerque Aces when a car accident had left him in pretty bad shape.

She knew what the file told her of his injuries and she knew he had been in a wheelchair for sometime and she also knew that apart from his physical scars, his mental ones went much deeper.

He was 20 years old and not reaching his star potential was apparently weighing heavily on him. Or so she had been told by her colleagues.

She had left the health centre this morning with a 'good luck' and sympathetic looks. She had decided to clear her mind of everything she had been told about him so she could go in today and make up her own mind. There was nothing worse than judging someone before she'd even met them. And the fact he had managed to drive away three people only made her think he was going to try the same with her.

Only he hadn't bargained on how stubborn Gabi Montez could be when she wanted to be.

The door opened to reveal an older lady, with long dark brown hair and a warm smile "Hello, you must be Miss Montez"

"Please, call me Gabriella. Gabi" she amended quickly, blushing

"I'm Linda. Come in" she said and Gabi followed her into the house and through to the living room where Mr. Bolton sat.

"Mr. Bolton" she shook his hand as he proffered his formally "Call me Jack" he insisted

"Okay, I'm Gabi" she repeated, sitting down awkwardly. These meetings were always awkward the first time. Once she got to know the patient, and the family, it became a lot easier but at first it always felt uncomfortable.

"Is Troy here?" she checked with a little frown

Linda looked to Jack and Jack pressed his lips together as he steepled his fingers.

"Uh, he's upstairs, in his room. He doesn't much come out" he explained lightly

Gabi nodded "Okay, well, I don't mean to appear rude but it's really best I form my own idea of Troy's situation before you tell me your side of it" she hedged, firm and confident in what she was saying but still a little cautious of their reaction. Some families didn't like how she worked because she was so direct.

"Erm, if you don't mind me saying…" Jack coughed "You are awfully young"

Gabi smiled her best professional smile. If he knew how many times she had been told that.

Her long curly black hair was tidy in a bun at the back of her head and her petite features were void of a lot of make up, but it did give her a youthful look.

"I'm 23" she said "I have all of the qualifications that the other visitors have. I just have different working methods" she explained "I have a great success rate, here is my information" she passed them a sheet

"I can't promise you're going to like me, or that Troy will like me, but I can promise I will not leave here until he is rehabilitated" she vowed.

Jack read her sheet with interest and she sat patiently.

"He's had three people leave already" Linda said "It hasn't helped his…trust of people" she mentioned carefully

"Would you like longer to think about this before I meet him?" she checked

They looked at each other and clasped their hands together.

"No, we're happy for you to start today" Linda said and Jack nodded

"Okay, would you like to take me up, Linda?" she asked and Linda led the way up the stairs, Gabi noticing the changes to the house to help Troy move around. He could get up and down the stairs she noted from the stair lift.

Why did he stay in his room? What was it that he was afraid of? She wondered as she climbed up, waiting behind Linda as she knocked on the door.

"Troy, are you up, honey? We have that meeting we told you about" she said through the closed door

"I don't care" he said back

"Well, Miss Montez is here to meet you" she said gently, taking a breath and Gabi could see she was both fearful and resigned at his expected reaction

The door flew open and a messily half dressed, unkempt young man appeared; his face stiff with anger and contempt. He had messy brown hair that was like a mop on his head and it fell into his face, which was a handsome face if it wasn't also covered in a beard.

His eyes seemed to pop out their blue colour against his darker hair and her eyes involuntarily dropped to his naked chest.

He had on some tracksuit bottoms with bare feet but his chest and stomach were quite defined, which surprised her considering he was meant to be wheelchair bound. That also didn't stop him from opening the door.

It would seem Troy's injuries were not as bad as she had originally presumed.

He looked at his mother, then looked at Gabi and squinted, then slammed the door shut again and Linda closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, perhaps today is not a good day" she suggested

"Actually today is perfect" Gabi said, undeterred "Let me try alone, I'll be back down shortly" she said and Linda nodded, her brown eyes meeting hers with concern

Gabi thought how odd it was that Troy's eyes had appeared so blue, so startling blue and his mother's eyes were so brown. He must take after his dad.

She took a breath, wondering if he might be dressed when she knocked again, more gently.

She waited a minute and she knew that the door would open again without her needing to knock a second time.

"You're not going away, huh?" he asked knowingly, his eyes challenging hers as they met again when he opened the door

She was glad to note he had put on a tee shirt. Albeit a creased one, which just further accentuated his scruffy appearance.

"Nope" she said and he sighed, resting his arm on the door frame and his head against his arm as he dropped his eyes and afforded Gabi with a view of his long eyelashes.

He really was too young to have to go through this, she thought as he sighed.

"I guess you ought to come in then" he said, walking away and leaving his door open as he trekked across his clothes-ridden floor.

Gabi picked her way across after him, noting the closed curtains, the half-eaten food, the smell of dankness from his obvious aversion to washing his clothes and himself.

Troy had the decency to look sheepish as she ventured in and he regretted opening the door to her again.

When his mom had told him Miss Montez were here, he wasn't expecting this petite bundle of exotic beauty to be standing on the other side of his door.

Her eyes skimmed the room but she didn't look disgusted as he expected her too. God knows his friends did when they came round. And the last time he had a girlfriend, which was a few months ago now, she had taken one look and never come back

He thought about how much that had hurt him and he knew Miss Montez would leave eventually too. They all did. No-one could stand his mood swings, his mess or his rudeness. Why should they? He was a twisted monster that no-one deserved to put up with.

It had taken a while for the last one to go he mused, thinking of Greg, his last health visitor, but he'd gone in the end.

He'd been going round and round in this pattern for six months now. He thought it was kind of ironic that Gabi thought she could break the chain. She looked like a teenager in an adult's world from her young face. She wore smart trousers and a shirt which strained at the buttons on her chest and he caught himself eyeing her there, wondering if she knew he could almost see her bra through the thin white shirt.

Gabi noticed Troy's eyes at her chest and blushed as she realized her shirt was almost gaping at the front. She self-consciously pulled at the gap and Troy's eyes flicked to hers and she had the most extraordinary feeling curl through her stomach at his look from under those lengthy lashes.

She frowned, and then took a breath as she brought herself back to the task at hand.

"Okay, so perhaps you would like to tell me about you?" she suggested, standing awkwardly among his dirty clothes.

"Wanna sit down?" he gruffed and she eyed the bed and then decided on a chair by his computer which was junk-free.

Troy lay on his bed again, face first, star fished "Fire away" he said tiredly

"Tell me about your injuries?" she asked gently

His body stiffened but he didn't move from his splayed position on the bed.

"I'm fucked up" he said shortly, bitterly

"Can you tell me exactly what's injured?" she asked

"You have my file don't you?" he snapped

"I do. But I'd like you to tell me"

"Is this some psychological shit?" he returned

"No." she said, just as shortly as he had before, causing him to lift his head to look at her, then place his head back down against his bed, facing her now.

"My back." He sighed "It's damaged. I can stand and walk a little but not a lot else. If we go out, I normally have the wheelchair."

"When did you last go out?" she queried lightly

His eyes flicked to hers and he leaned up onto to elbows, considering her

"How old are you?" he asked in return

Gabi lifted her eyes from her lap to meet his, surprised at his question.

He wasn't as closed off as she had expected.

"I'm twenty-three" she supplied primly, crossing her legs and Troy didn't miss her shapely thighs as they rested together.

"Isn't that a bit young? You're only three years older than me" he argued

"I believe you are trying to avoid my question" she pursed her lips.

Troy watched her lips pout and had a funny urge to lick his tongue across her lower lip. Of course he was trying to avoid her question, he mused. Who wouldn't in his situation?

There was a beautiful girl sat in his room and if she knew he hadn't been out of the house in a month she might think he was…well he didn't know what she might think he was, but it definitely wasn't good.

"What was the question again?" he asked, even though he knew

She cocked her head and he wondered how annoyed he could make her.

"When was the last time you went out" she repeated

"When was the last time you went out?" he asked back "I mean, out- out. To a party or something?"

She considered him. She had plenty of training to deal with people like this. But she also knew that for him to trust her, she would have to build up a rapport. That often meant giving snippets of information about herself.

"If I tell you will you answer my question?" she smirked at the circle of questions around them

He nodded against his hands as he cupped his chin.

"Okay. The last time I went out to a party type thing was for my best friend's birthday, last Saturday" she divulged "You?"

"See that wasn't so hard was it?" he asked another question and she eyed him, sensing he was trying to wind her up

"Okay, okay, don't get your knickers in a twist" he sighed, resting his head back on the bed where he mumbled "April 5th" against the bed cover, his lips contorted by the bed

Gabi looked him in the eyes, realising that was four weeks ago.

"Okay. And is there anything other than your back that was injured?" she checked

"Well I got all these scars" he said, rolling onto his back and peeling up his tee top to flash his belly at her again, pointing out the scars she had already seen. "And my leg got hurt so I limp a bit on that until it's fixed. I'm a fucking invalid basically" he said and put his arm over his eyes

"I'm going to be around quite a lot this week" she said "To keep up with your progress, see your daily routine" she added

"Fine" he said blankly, then peeped at her with one eye when she was quiet "That's it?" he asked, surprised

She nodded.

"You don't want to know why the others left?" he frowned but she only saw the downturn of his mouth as his arm covered his brows.

She shook her head, her own lips pointing downward "Not particularly"

His eyes stayed on hers for a moment. That was the first thing the others had asked him. What was his problem? What was he struggling with? Why couldn't he accept his fate?

He wondered now why she hadn't asked him any of that, why she didn't care. Why didn't it bother her that he lived in a pit of despair and hadn't been out in over a month?

God knows Greg had tried to coax him out of the house enough times. But he spoke to him like he was five years old. That just wound him up even more.

"Okay I'm just going to say goodbye to your parents, I'll be back tomorrow at 9am, will you be here to let me in?" she checked

He sighed "Where else will I be?"

"I don't know. Maybe you'll have a miraculous recovery and run off to Vegas" she suggested lightly as she got up

"What?" he said, lifting his head quickly at catching her joke

She merely smiled at him "Bye Troy" she said and she closed his door behind her. The others never did that, either. It was like they thought if they left his door open he would have to get up or he would be curious about what lay out in the hall.

All it did was serve to remind him what little respect he commanded now that he couldn't walk properly.

--

"Is everything okay?" Linda asked as Gabi came down to find them both hunched on the sofa.

"Actually yes, Troy was fine." She said

"Oh thank god, I was so worried he would be rude to you" she sighed

"I'm sure its coming" Gabi mused

"What did you think?" Jack asked

Gabi's brown eyes met his "I think your son is very intelligent, Jack and I think we can help him" she said positively

"Okay, well is there anything you need from us?"

"How often do you spend here?" she asked gently

"When we're not working or busy, we're here" he admitted

"I need you to cut down the visits for me. I'll tell you more on Friday when you come to the office" she added, conscious that Troy was probably at the top of the stairs listening, like most of her patients did after she left them.

"Okay, thank you" they said gratefully as she left.

---

Gabi strode purposefully from the house, feeling someone watching her and turning to look up, seeing Troy's curtain twitch and knowing he was curious about her. What she didn't know was how she was going to deal with his probing questions. She'd never quite had anyone so unpredictable to deal with before and she feared, for the first time ever, that he may just get the better of her and expose her inexperience.

The spring air was warm across her skin as she made her way back to the car and she got in, shutting the door and starting the engine, hoping against all hope that this would be a quick project and she could be back on a plane to Houston to see her fiancé before spring was out.

James hadn't exactly been happy about her moving all the way to Albuquerque to take this case and she had felt, even before that, they were on shaky ground. Twice she had gone to meet him at a bar and found him flirting with another woman and both times he had accused her of being possessive and unreasonable when she had mentioned it.

She didn't think it all that unreasonable that her husband-to-be was able to wait for her without flirting with any female within ten feet. And she wasn't going to take any crap. She had said yes to his proposal when they had been whirlwind in love at six months and now she wished she hadn't but she couldn't just take something like that back, so instead she extended their engagement and even now they had only been together for a year this coming June; it was still such a short time to be getting married. It had meant moving away from everything she knew in New York, her friends, her work. And six months of living with James with hardly any time to enjoy herself.

As though thinking about him had conjured his call, her phone started ringing and Gabi saw James on her caller ID. She picked up the call before she pulled away.

"Hi honey" she said tiredly

"Hi sweetie" James purred "How's my favourite girl?" he asked

"Oh, tired, but I'm okay, thanks. How are you? How did the Lexar deal go?" she asked

"It went well. They assigned the project to me and I'll be working with their project manager" he explained

"Oh that's good. What did you do last night?" she checked lightly

"Sat in with a pizza. Missing you" he said

"Aw, I miss you too" she sighed, picturing his bulky frame, his rugged looks.

"How was the rehab case?" he asked then, absently as she could hear him ordering food at the deli.

"I can't talk about it honey, you know that" she reminded him

"I don't know why not, it's not like I'm going to say anything" he said tersely

"It really doesn't matter" she said, tired. Tired of having to go through this every time she had a new case. Tired of having to fight over something that didn't have any bearing on their relationship.

"It matters to me. I wanna know if some psycho is giving you grief" he argued

"James…" she sighed, rubbing her forehead to relieve the pressure of her frown

"Fine. Don't tell me." he said and hung up, much to her surprise

He had never hung up on her before. What was he playing at?

Maybe this time apart would do them good, she mused.

---

Troy lay back on his bed after watching Gabi leave, face down as he closed his eyes and prayed his parents would just decide to leave him alone.

He didn't want people sat in his living room all day waiting for him to come out. He wanted to lie in his bed until he felt like moving and be able to go to his kitchen for a cheese toastie without it being a big deal.

If he even ventured down the stairs he would be pounced upon and talked to like a child and he hated that. He hated that more than being disabled, the fact that everyone spoke to him like he was five years old.

He knew he hadn't exactly helped himself by acting like a teenager most of the time, but he was barely out of his teens and he felt like all his hard work, his determination, was wasted. And so was his will. His will to get up. His will to live.

He sighed, letting his eyes close as he fell into a nap, rolling on the bed until he was comfy, his blanket twisted around him haphazardly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the comments!!**

**CHAPTER 2**

That's how Gabi found him the next morning. Despite her request that they go home and leave Troy, his parents had opened the door at 9am, meaning he had not needed to get out of bed. She asked them politely if they would mind leaving them alone for the day and to let him open the door to her the following day.

If she were going to have any hope of getting him back to normal, they had to stop treating him like this.

Gabi's lips curled involuntarily into a smile at his sprawled sleeping position, wondering how it didn't hurt his back to be all twisted like that.

Again, the thought struck her that his back wasn't all that bad.

She swiped the smile from her face and she realized someone must have opened his door as she had left it shut when she had left the previous day.

She wandered around his room, sat at his desk and folded her arms, coughing gently.

He kind of stirred but didn't wake up so she coughed again, this time walking over to his stereo to put it on, interested to hear what he had listened to last.

Heavy metal blasted from the stereo at a painful level and Gabi shrieked in fear, jumping back and she quickly jabbed all the buttons trying to get it to stop

"What in the hell?" Troy yelled as Gabi managed to shut the thing off

He had rolled up on the bed, holding his ears as he glared at her like she was an evil being.

"Get out" he said quietly, his anger barely simmering beneath the surface

Gabi turned to him. "The door was open" she said nonchalantly, hoping to force out some of his anger so she would really find out what was bothering him.

"I said GET OUT!" he yelled "Are you deaf?"

Gabi folded her arms, standing in front of the bed, noting he hadn't moved off the bed and his face grimaced in pain.

He reached for his bedside table, slowly, and grabbed at a packet of pills, cursing as they hit the floor, painfully moving into a sitting position as she rounded the bed and picked them up, calmly.

"Give me those" he barked, and Gabi flicked a look at the label, realizing they were strong painkillers.

He must be in a lot of pain to get these she thought, wondering if his apparent ease of movement yesterday was heavily aided by the pills.

"Please…?" she said softly, holding them to her chest

Troy looked at her. She was wearing jeans today and a casual grey top that wasn't clingy but it still showed off her curves. His eyes dropped from her face to trace her delicate collarbone, over her pert breasts, down to her slim waist and lingered on her curvy hips.

He held out his hand, his blue eyes dark with anger and begging too.

She handed the pills to him wordlessly, turning to leave.

"Where are you going?" he asked after swallowing the tablets

"You told me to leave" she said

"And you're going to listen to me?" he challenged

Her lashes flicked up to reveal her brandy coloured eyes "This time" she conceded, heading down stairs.

--

Gabi wasn't sure how he did it, but he made it down the stairs and just as she was cooking scrambled eggs on the stove.

"What, you cook now too?" he accused, coming into the room on crutches, albeit with great difficulty and in obvious discomfort as she eyed him critically.

"Would you like some breakfast?" she asked, ignoring his comment

"It's my parents that opened the door you know" he said and she turned, frowning

"Huh?"

"My room." He said as he sat at the table, absent mindedly rubbing his leg.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know" she lied

He squinted at her. No-one much bothered apologizing to him lately. It was like they thought his privacy didn't exist just because he lived in a pigsty.

"Where are they anyway?" he asked her as she put some eggs in front of him, and buttered some toast

"They left this morning and won't be back until tomorrow" she offered

"You sent them away?" he guessed, delighted

"Do you want those eggs or not? If not, I'll have them" she diverted and he didn't miss it, but he smiled secretly so she didn't see.

He tucked into the food she laid out and she nibbled on some toast and he thought how different she was to his last three health visitors. She didn't seem to have any kind of timelines or goals for him. The others would come in and want him to complete so many tasks in one day but she didn't seem to have anything like that planned at all.

She was just sitting there having breakfast with him.

He smiled inanely then as a thought came to him and his grin slowly spread.

Gabi looked at him, confused. He began to giggle, his laugh turning into an outright roar as the realization hit him.

"What?" she asked nervously, fearing she had something on her face as she brushed at her mouth worriedly.

"Nothing"

"Troy…" she warned

"Nothing, nothing" he snickered

"Tell me" she insisted

He cast his amused eyes upon her and it took her breath away to see them all lit up. His grin was possibly the most amazing thing she had ever witnessed.

"Well…." He began, still flicking his eyes between her and his plate "You got me down the stairs" he said gently, still laughing to himself as he shook his head "I mean, I come downstairs all the time when my parents aren't here" he added, giving Gabi the information she needed "But I haven't been down here otherwise."

She looked at him, waiting for him to expand but he didn't, he just cast his eyes down

"Does it annoy you that they're always here?" she asked

"You're trying to psycho-analyse me again aren't you?" he said with a smile, indicating he didn't want to answer her question or talk about this.

"You ask a lot of questions" she murmured

"Really? You mean your other people don't?" he wondered, interested in what it was like to do her job.

"Not quite like you do" she admitted

His lashes hit his cheeks as he studied the table, scratching at it with his fingernail "I'm bored silly in here" he said then, afraid she might turn around and say 'Well lets go out for a nice walk!" in a fake happy tone like the others used to.

"I bet" she mused "I'm bored silly just sitting here" she joked and again she surprised him. It didn't seem like the sort of thing she should be saying but he liked it.

"What about my sparkling conversation?" he asked drily and she allowed him a smile

"Riveting" she said flatly and he cocked his head at her

"I know what you're going to say" he began

"Oh, what's that?" she asked

"You're going to say I should shower up and tidy my room" he guessed, knowing it was coming. It was always coming.

"Nope" she said, folding her arms

"Why did you come then?" he wondered

"Not to tell you what to do that's for sure. We have a physio session to get to at 11 remember?" she asked

"And you're not gonna make me shower?" he said incredulously

"Troy, you're a grown man. I am sure you can make up your own mind about whether or not to have a shower" she lifted her eyebrows.

"And it really doesn't bother you that I am sat here all rank and greasy?" he asked again

She actually giggled at him then, then caught herself, tucking her smile away.

"Does it bother you?" she challenged

He shrugged "A little. But it hurts so damn much" he shared, then stopped suddenly and grabbed the salt pot in frustration, causing his arm to bulge a little.

Gabi watched him, wondering how he managed to keep his muscle tone after the accident.

"Do you use the gym?" she asked

"Huh?" he looked at her blankly, having expected her to pursue his admission of being in pain

"The gym?" she asked again

"When I go rehab they let me work out a little, but I have to be helped and I'm only allowed to do so much"

"But you like it, right?" she asked

He nodded "You like it too?" he asked, flexing his arm a little

She pursed her lips at his attempt to flirt

"I think we should talk to your doctor about what we can do to extend your rehab and gym time" she suggested

He blinked at her. It seemed like everyone was normally holding him back. He wanted desperately to get back to his normal level of fitness but it just didn't seem like it was happening.

"I'd like that" he admitted carefully

"So are we good to go or do you want to change into something more casual?" she asked drily and his eyes met hers with that funny look again, like he didn't know quite whether she were for real.

"I'm gonna change" he said, getting up and stretching gently before heading up the stairs on the stair lift.


	3. Chapter 3

**Writer on wheels- you might like to read my story 'What I love about you' as my Troy is that is also vulnerable and has a stutter. (sexy one mind lol) And I have already written this story so I'm not sure what you will think about the 'authenticity' seeing as I get so many great comments I panic and think eep it might not live up to expectations but we'll see :)**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone- even the random ones lmao.**

**CHAPTER 3**

Troy grimaced as he fought through his pain barrier to complete his exercises at the physio centre and he begrudged having Gabi here to witness it.

He couldn't ignore the beautiful brown eyes that tilted up at him and the hot body underneath her seemingly professional clothes. Having someone so attractive as his rehab mentor was going to prove difficult.

He knew she must surely be spoken for, despite not seeing her wearing any rings, but he knew that none of them wore jewellery because they weren't supposed to talk about their private lives. Or so Greg had explained.

He thought it quite amusing that he was expected to talk about private things yet they weren't.

Every time he got on these bars and pushed himself he thought about how he had taken everything for granted before the accident.

Man, how he missed running down the basket ball court and throwing the ball in the net. How he missed hanging out with his friends, cruising around in his car and chilling at the juice bar.

How he could still feel the bitter taste in his mouth from being THAT close to having it all. And it all being taken away from him in a snap.

The accident was a blur to him but the nightmares still haunted him. He'd begun his rehab with gusto, wanting to get fit as soon as possible, but slowly and surely it had dawned on him that he wasn't going to be back to normal for a long time.

He could still remember the day they had told him he couldn't play basketball again. How he'd torn up his room and collapsed on the bed and pretty much stayed there unless they forced him out of the house in which case he just sat grumpily, sulking the whole time, resenting anyone telling him what to do. His loss of power was huge without having to do things he didn't want to on top of it.

He sighed as he reached the end of the bars, sweating heavily and his head hung as his leg throbbed.

Gabi watched him sureptously as he clung to the bars, his pain and struggle evident in his face.

She moved from her chair as he climbed down and she met him as he inelegantly sat on a bench, recovering

"I think you should go again" she said

He looked at her, his eyes crowded by his angry eyebrows "Are you trying to piss me off?" he asked

"No. I'm suggesting you have another go" she said innocently

"Do you have any idea how hard it is?" he asked, then laughed without humour "Of course not. You're little miss perfect who lives in a big house with a husband who does everything for you and you have perfect babies" he ground out, looking away

Gabi was not moved "I broke my arm when I fell out of a tree" she offered

"What?" he looked at her again, wondering why she kept telling him these things. It was like she was trying to get on his level or something.

"You're psycho shitting on me again aren't you?" he challenged

She smiled "I'm telling you I know what pain is. Not your pain, admittedly, but I know pain" she blinked, covering her eyes as she hid something from him.

"So how many babies do you have?" he attempted

"Nice try. Get back on the bar" she instructed and the physio allowed him to have another go.

"Okay" he said as he began a slow walk again with aid from the bars, the weight of his body causing his arms to bunch and bulge at the pressure. "At least tell me what you were doing in a tree"

Gabi stood at the other end of the bars "If you make it down here, I will" she bargained

He looked at her curvy silhouette and thought he didn't really need a lot else to propel him.

Tired, aching, the pain lifting a little at his further exercise, he made it to Gabi with fierce concentration, coming up in front of her as she stepped back a little.

"I made it" he said softly and Gabi was shocked by his soft tone

There was this whole other person she hadn't seen yet inside of the angry shell of the Troy she knew.

"I was climbing the tree with my best friend, Andy, and he jumped out of the tree and said that girls couldn't jump. So I jumped. And I landed badly and broke my arm." She divulged

Troy smiled "You proved him wrong them" he said sarcastically and she allowed him a little grin

"Not so much. But he felt really bad afterwards and when I hit thirteen he all of a sudden wanted to date me" she shared

Troy could imagine a younger Gabi's body coming into bloom. Hell he'd have wanted to date her too.

"I bet he did" he commented and Gabi blushed, much to his surprise. So she wasn't immune to him after all.

She helped him down from the bars and followed him to the gym where he did some light resistance training with help and finally he headed for the showers.

It was a good half an hour before he appeared, but he was definitely moving a lot more easily and he had a glow on his face.

"That was awesome" he said as they left "I can't believe they're going to let me do more sessions"

"I can't believe no-one asked before" Gabi thought out loud

Troy shrugged before he got back into her car, pleased to note she didn't try to help him.

"I guess I was kinda rude" he said "I don't suppose they much wanted to help me out" he said of his previous helpers.

Gabi pressed her lips together but didn't say anything and he was curious to hear what she really thought.

She spent a lot of time appearing prim and proper but every now and then she would flash him a glimpse at her real personality. The one that so far appeared to be less than impressed with her colleagues.

"Okay well you have the whole afternoon free to sleep" she said brightly, thinking she would probably quite like to do the same, but knowing she had paperwork to catch up on and post to read that James was re-directing to her. Not to mention actually speaking to James seeing as he had called her back last night and she had ignored the call.

"You're not coming back with me?" he asked forlornly

"Do you need me to?" she asked

He shrugged "Maybe"

"For what?" she asked

He didn't answer at first. "Company" he said quietly, looking out of the window as he perched his chin on his hand like a little boy

Gabi flicked him a look. "Okay. But if I come I'm not going to sit there while you sleep" she said with an arched brow.

"Oh god. That can only mean one thing" he complained

She laughed "What?"

"Tasks. Do you want to know the ones I've already done so I don't have to repeat them?" he asked drily

"You really are cynical aren't you?" she batted back and he turned to her, shocked she thought that. He hadnt been, once upon a time; but things had changed.

"Pretty much" he agreed

"Okay then, tell me" she insisted

"Okay well, there's the climbing the stairs, there's cooking myself lunch, going out in the garden, going to the park, grocery shopping…" he trailed off, touching his fingers as he listed his tasks

"Well you are running out of food" she mused and he cast her a look "Just saying" she added

"Well why don't we leave something for tomorrow. Don't wanna wear you out on your first day" he said

"You're cheeky" she accused "I don't know how you got away with it with Greg" she lifted her brows, knowing Greg wasn't the type who could banter

"I didn't" he said flatly and then tensed up, facing out of the window again, closing her off once more.

She twisted her mouth, again feeling bad for him. He had so much on his shoulders and it would seem her colleagues had just added to that and now he had this idea that every time she turned up, she would force him to do something.

It amazed her that everyone was treating him like a child when he clearly wasn't.

"What do you do other than sleep?" she asked

He shrugged, obviously retreating into himself

"Do you use your computer?" she hedged

"Yeah, I go online. Check the basketball scores; see who's where in the league"

"Do you go to games?" she asked

"Not so much"

"Because you don't want to?" she guessed

"Because I'm afraid to" he admitted

Gabi stopped outside the house, getting out and waiting for him on the sidewalk

When he reached her she locked her car "I'd like to go to a game. When you feel up to it" she commented, heading for the house, surprised to find Jack and Linda there again and Troy came in behind her on his crutches, seeing them and instantly tensing up.

"I thought you weren't coming back" he said accusingly

"We wanted to see how rehab went, son" Jack said

"I'm going to my room" he said, getting into the stair lift and leaving Gabi alone with the two of them.

She peeked at them and saw their tensed stances. She shepherded them into the living room, sitting down and folding her hands as she leaned forward slightly.

"I know you're concerned about Troy" she began and they looked at her

"But you really do need to stop coming by without calling first" she broached

Jack frowned "Don't tell us how to look after our son" he said angrily "You've been here for ONE DAY. We've been here for six months picking up the pieces. You think you know us so well?" he demanded

Gabi looked him in the eye "Maybe not. But I know I Troy likes his privacy and I think it would help if we set some boundaries. What you're doing at the moment isn't working and I don't really want to discuss it here but I feel like we should start afresh." She said gently

Jack went red in the face "I think you should leave!" he demanded

Troy listened from the top of the stairs as Gabi tried to fight his corner, and he heard his dad getting angrier as she exerted her opinion.

Gabi looked at Jack and wondered whether she should fight this battle or concede defeat.

"Jack, we wont get very far if you don't trust my judgment" she said calmly

"Jack, let's go home and we'll talk to Gabi on Friday" Linda suggested

"Are you married?" he shouted as he got up and Linda tried to tug him from the room "I hope not because I pity the poor bastard who has to come home to a heartless bitch every night!" he yelled as he stormed out and Linda covered her face with shock

"I am so sorry!" she whispered to Gabi, touching her arm "I'll talk to him" she promised


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone**

**Just to answer a question, I made Gabi older as she is a health worker therefore it made sense she would have to be older than her patient…I didn't realize it would cause such a stir lol x**

**Glad u like it, I'm reading it back thinking how I could have done it so much better !**

**Enjoy**

**A**

**CHAPTER 4**

Gabi sat on the sofa in Troy's living room and got up to grab her keys as she felt tears come to her eyes at Jack's harsh words.

She pulled open the living room door and looked up, startled as she found Troy there.

"Oh!" she jumped

"Hey, are you okay?" his eyes scanned her face, falling on her crying eyes

She nodded, gulping back her tears "I'm fine. I'm going to go" she said, wishing he would move from the doorway so she didn't have to lose her professional façade like this.

"I'm sorry my dad upset you" he frowned, wishing he could trace his thumb across her delicate cheekbone to dry her tears.

"It's not him" she said, then bit her tongue, not wanting to say any more "Please, I just want to go now" she said of him blocking the doorway

"But you were going to make me tidy my room" he protested as she passed him, really not wanting her to leave as she headed for the door.

She stopped, closing her eyes, knowing she shouldn't just leave him after making plans. It wouldn't help build up much of a rapport if she went back on her word all the time.

She took a deep breath. "Okay" she turned "Give me a few minutes." She said and disappeared to use his bathroom.

---

Gabi peeked round the door of the living room after regaining her composure and smiled as she saw the food and drinks Troy had laid out as he sat comfortably and nonchalantly ate his sandwiches.

"Task number 1 complete" she joked as she sat down, sipping her drink and taking some food.

His eyes met hers and the concern she saw in them touched her. "Are you okay?" he asked

She nodded, knowing she would start crying again if she spoke.

"I'm glad my dad left. I'm fed up of having them here." He said tightly

"I guessed" she mused

"Thank you for standing up for me" he added

She smiled "It's all in my master plan"

"Oh?" he lifted his eyebrows which disappeared into his messy fringe.

"Yep. Next week, overthrowing the government"

"Cool" he grinned, relaxing into the chair "So, you wanna play Death Star?" he asked

"Okay sounds good" she said, picking up some controls and battling against Troy on his game.

"And Troy for the win!" he laughed as he beat her and she threw the console down dejectedly

"Humph" she sulked

"Oh, don't sulk now" he accused and she sat up, realizing the time

"I should go. Tomorrow we should go shopping for some food" she suggested lightly

He nodded, his situation coming back to him heavily at her reminder he still needed help doing the most basic tasks.

"Are you married?" he asked suddenly as she perched on the edge of the sofa to get up

Gabi turned toward him and she felt herself drowning in his deep blue-grey eyes.

"No" she said softly and got up, frowning at having answered his question and at herself for letting those eyes hypnotise her. Damn but she could get in a lot of trouble if she wasn't careful.

"But you've got a boyfriend?" he persisted and she turned

She sighed "You know I can't answer that"

"I don't have a girlfriend. I did. But she took one look at me after the accident and decided she didn't want a cripple for a boyfriend" he offered, his monotone voice belying his hurt.

Gabi bit her lip. "I'm sorry that happened. But not everyone will feel that way" she assured him

"What about your boyfriend?" he asked again and Gabi cocked her head

"You really are digging aren't you?" she mused

"Well, I shared" he pointed out

"You do realize I could lose my job" she reasoned

"I won't tell" he offered a tiny smile

"The reason I was upset is because last night I had an argument with a friend. And that is all I am telling you so please don't ask again" she added, turning again to head for the door

"See you tomorrow" he called as she headed out.

---

Gabi went back to her rented apartment and sunk into her couch, kicking herself for giving into Troy's beautiful eyes and allowing her professional exterior to crack.

His dad probably had a good point about her being a heartless bitch and James probably deserved someone more warm and loving.

She had spent so long pushing people away from her she'd forgotten what is was like to let people in.

Why did she feel a connection with Troy? She hadn't had to deal with half of what he was dealing with but she felt like they had something in common. Maybe the fact she had had to work so hard to get to where she was in her career, at such a young age and had to fight against her parents, reminded her of Troy's relationship with his parents right now.

Only ultimately, his parents loved him whereas she had been abandoned by hers. The moment she had got on the plane to America had been the moment they cut all ties with her.

---

Troy laid down to sleep, the darkness overcoming him but sleep not prevailing.

He ached in his heart from what he had lost the day of the accident. And every time he closed his eyes he could see the truck coming at him and hear the painful crunching of metal against metal,

After that he didn't remember anything. And he hadn't remembered much for a few days while his concussion healed.

He could picture himself at the court in his yard or standing on the court at the Aces stadium, bouncing the ball against the shiny floor before starting a run down the court and passing the ball. The smell of sweat and leather filled the air with the crowds screams. And the buzz he got from dunking a basket and winning a game was irreplaceable.

He would never have that again. It hurt. It hurt him more than his back hurt him. That he had been so close to achieving his dream and some stupid night time driver had taken it all away.

He couldn't see a way out. What was he meant to do with himself? Opt for another career?

He tossed in bed, his back twingeing. He couldn't see that anyone could ever love him either. Not only was he a failure, a nothing, but he couldn't even stand up for more than hour.

Kissing, making out, making love, seemed like a thing of the distant past. There wasn't any girl he knew of that would be patient enough to wait for him to be fit enough to be able to satisfy them with a normal love life. He would always be different, be constrained. His doctors had told him as long as he could do it without being in pain; there was no reason why he couldn't enjoy 'an active sex life'.

He laughed drily to himself. He was barely active at all, let alone in bed. He was resigned to a restricted life as a bachelor and celibacy.

He rubbed his face, his tired eyes feeling dry and scratchy as he closed them to try and sleep again.

He smiled as he thought about Gabi and how she had opened up a little to him today and they had been just like any other twenty year olds hanging out. He found his body relaxing of its own will, the sharp pain in his back receding enough to let him fall asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Quick mention to Emily Jane for your last review, thank you for saying that about about being in the same room I think someone said that before and I was chuffed when I read it.**

**Also thanks for the advice from Noelle- will try and put that in practice asap!**

**And thanks to everyone else too, your reviews mean the world to me, without them I wouldn't keep writing!**

**I will warn you in advance next week I'm going to London for the 17 Again premiere so I wont be updating for a couple of days next week.**

**A**

**CHAPTER 5**

Gabi knocked on the front door three times with no response and guessed Troy was avoiding her.

She went to the back of the house and peered through the back door, seeing an empty and unlit kitchen.

She eyed the swing chair and sat there, tucking her feet up, texting James.

She had spoken to him last night but he hadn't seemed all that sorry about their call and she wondered why he was suddenly acting so weirdly. As soon as she had stepped on the plane he had totally changed.

She frowned. She would have to speak to him again, ask him if they could try and sort things out. Maybe she could fly back for a weekend and talk to him. But it was always her who made all the big gestures. Let it be him for once she thought as he text her back and her phone bleeped.

--

Troy struggled from bed and made his way downstairs, into the kitchen in his boxers and using his crutches. The knocking had stopped at least 20 minutes ago, signalling the departure of Gabi.

He had a good habit going on now avoiding the health visitors, especially when he knew it meant going outside.

He flicked up the blind and jumped a little as he saw a form in the swing chair on the veranda.

He recognized the dark hair, though it was wrapped in a bun and briefly wondered what Gabi's hair looked like when she let it out of that bun.

He tapped on the window and she turned, smiling as she recognized him and he manoevered to the back door to open it as she met him there, wrapped up in a warm wool coat, with a scarf and gloves.

"Have you been out there long?" he asked innocently, knowing she had as her face was pink from the cold. He felt a funny feeling in his stomach and hated himself for not coming when she knocked. He didn't know she was going to sit outside. He had under-estimated her perseverance.

Gabi's eyes met Troy's but she hadn't missed his half naked form. There was a scar on his belly which fascinated her so much she felt her fingers itching to touch it. She rubbed her hands together to distract herself.

"A while" she answered, her gaze lifting to his chest, then back to his stomach where his light muscles entranced her.

"See something you like?" he asked lightly and she snapped her gaze up, blushing profusely

He had a big grin on his face when she met his gaze. A big, knowing grin.

"Nothing especially" she lied "Can I come in yet?" she asked tersely

He dipped his smile, standing back for her to let her through.

He watched her as she entered and she went to shrug off her jacket but he came up behind her and took the shoulders for her so he could help her out of it and she turned with a look of surprise "Thank you" she said gently

"You're welcome. Now can I grab something to wear or do you want me to stay like this?" he checked, testing her reaction. He wanted to know how far he could push her.

"It's up to you" she said "But if it were me, I'd want to dress warm as its cold out there"

He nodded, seeing she wasn't going to banter this time "Okay. Be right back" he said as he disappeared on his crutches once more and left Gabi alone is his kitchen.

--

"No breakfast?" he said as he came back through to her, wearing jeans with a thin blue jumper that outlined his muscles and a beanie hat that made her heart flop heavily in her chest.

Gabi frowned, wondering what the heck was wrong with her. She had never found a patient attractive, it just didn't happen.

"Nope" she said with a smile

"Why not?" he asked, forlornly

"Because you should have got up in time to make it. And now we have a trip to make so it's too late"

"You're not letting me have breakfast?" he cried incredulously

"Correction: YOU are not letting you have breakfast"

"Wow, if I had known you were gonna be worse that Greg, I'd have asked for him back" he muttered

"Wheelchair?" she asked, ignoring him

He moved to sit in his wheelchair and she followed him.

"Don't think I'm going out" he warned sulkily

"What are you going eat then?" she challenged

He shrugged.

"Okay well we're not going shopping first anyway, there's something I want to show you" she added mysteriously

"What?" he demanded

"That's not the deal" she said "If you want to see it, you have to come out"

"Dangling a big ol' bribe there aren't you?" he smiled knowingly

"Not really. It's your choice. We can sit in here all morning and make stilted conversation. Or you can come for a drive" she shrugged

"My conversation is not stilted" he argued. "I happen to be very interesting to listen to"

"Oh and so modest and selfless" she added, rolling her eyes in a jokey way

"You don't think I can listen too?" he asked, shocked.

Again, he remembered a time when he had been a great listener. He could sit down with anyone and make easy conversation.

"I guess because I normally have to do all the talking and I'm not allowed to ask questions I've kind of forgotten what it's like" he mused to himself.

"Okay you can tell me all about it in the car, let's go tough guy" she said and he wheeled himself out of the house and down the ramp toward her car.

He turned to look at her with squinted eyes "I can't believe you got me out of the house" he said

"It was your choice" she reminded him

"I was tricked" he claimed and she laughed

"Yeah, yeah." She unlocked the car and lifted his wheelchair into the back as he got in and she got in next to him, checking his face.

She started the engine and pulled away. "Okay so let's play 10 questions" she suggested as they began their journey

Troy looked at her as though she had lost her marbles "Yeah, ok" he said drily

"I mean it. You can go first"

"You're going to answer any question I ask you?" he said disbelievingly

"As long as it's not about my personal life, yes" she said

"Then what's the point?" he challenged

"Because you can ask me anything else" she said

He stared at her and she began to hum, ignoring his gaze.

"Okay. Where do you live?" he asked

"Houston." She supplied "What's your favourite colour?" she asked back

"Red. You?"

"Mmm. Blue I think. Boxers or briefs?" she asked and then giggled "Oops sorry, I forgot who I was with for a moment"

"Boxers" he said, glancing at her "Knickers or thongs?" he raised an eyebrow and she smiled as she watched the road.

"Neither." She said.

"Commando?" He said, shocked, a little stirring beginning in his groin at the thought of her panty-less under those jeans

"French knickers" she said "Who's your best friend and why?"

"Chad, because we grew up together. And he's the only one who still comes round" he sighed, thinking he really must call his buddy "Who's your best friend?" he asked in return

Gabi's smile dipped a little and Troy frowned at that. He loved seeing her face light up, her cheeks blush pink from his probing questions.

"I don't really have one right now. I lived in New York and moved quite quickly to Houston, so I mostly go out with colleagues" she explained "What's your favourite memory?"

"Wow, you're good at this" he observed, knowing what it was instantly, but finding it painful to talk about.

"Mm-mm" she nodded "I've had practice"

"Of course" he smiled a little "Well, it would have to be the day I got the contract for the Aces" he said softly, surprising Gabi once again with his reverting from bitter Troy to gentle Troy.

"Your turn" she reminded him. "Number 5"

"Wow we only had five? I'm running out of things to ask" he admitted

"Think of something wacky" she challenged

"Okay…what's your teddy bear called and who bought it for you?" he said and she looked at him briefly, her mouth curling into a smile. So there was some imagination in there somewhere, underneath that gruff exterior.

"My teddy is called Ted and my boyfriend of 14 bought him for me" she supplied

"The same one who said you couldn't jump out of a tree?" he wondered

She giggled "No I didn't date him! And that's two!"

"Okay you go" he allowed, sitting up, enjoying this little game

"Mmm, let me think. What were you like in school?"

"Sporty. Good looking. Popular" he answered and she flicked her eyes at him again.

"Again, your modesty astounds me" she joked "What was the name of your first girlfriend?"

"Hey, that's personal!" He protested jokily "But it was Cindy. And she was my only girlfriend until we graduated"

"Your go" she reminded him

"Oh man!" he complained "Aren't we there already?" he wondered, realizing they weren't travelling to any shops and wondering where she was taking him

"Almost. Time for one more"

"Okay. Do you have any babies?" he asked carefully, knowing she wouldn't answer.

"No" she said and he looked at her. Not married, no babies, but sure to have a boyfriend if she had moved from her home town and had an argument with 'a friend'.

She pretended to think about her next question as she felt Troy's eyes on her and wondered what she was getting herself into. When she was with him it didn't feel like he was a patient at all.

"Would you like to see some basketball?" she asked, though this question was planned

"Maybe" he shrugged

"Well we're here and we're going to see some basketball" she said as she pulled into a car park and looked at him.

He nodded slowly "We came all the way out here just to see a game?" he checked

She nodded "Yep. Let's go or I'll be late to meet the coach" she said, rushing him out.

The centre that she had brought them to had ramps and was designed for wheelchairs he noted.

He wheeled himself in, Gabi following.

"I feel like an idiot in this thing" he murmured as she bought the tickets.

"I don't know why" she said lightly, not even blinking at the fact he was in this stupid contraption. Where on earth was he ever going to find someone as understanding as Gabi? Why didn't he meet girls like her that weren't off limits?

She led him through to the court and he noticed right away that the players were all in wheelchairs, specially adapted to enable them to maneuver around on the basketball court.

She waved at a young-ish guy who was able-bodied and he headed over, shaking her hand

"Miss Montez, it's a pleasure to see you again" he said smoothly and Troy squinted at him. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. Her breasts to be precise but he couldn't blame the guy, though he much preferred her curvy hips.

"Hi Matt. This is Troy" she smiled, introducing them and Matt took his hand in a firm shake.

"Hi Troy. I know all about you from the Aces" he said "Fantastic talent" he nodded and Troy frowned. Not any more he wasn't

Gabi looked down to Troy to see he had clammed up. "Okay well we'll take a seat and thanks for coming over" she said to Matt

"Err Gabi, can I have a word?" he asked and Troy threw them a look as he pushed himself toward the court.

"Sure" she smiled and Troy looked behind him to see him chatting to Gabi, stroking her arm a little as he flirted and she spurned his advance by shaking her head, blushing.

Matt pulled out his wallet and passed her his number so Troy moved before he got caught.

---

Sitting on a bench next to where Troy was parked, Gabi handed him a soda and began to eat some candy she had got from the machine.

"Going out for dinner are you?" Troy said drily as he watched the disabled basketball player's move around the court, fascinated at how they did it.

Gabi laughed then, hiding her mouth with her hand "Err no" she smiled

"That means you have a boyfriend" he decided

Gabi blinked slowly "You just don't stop do you?" she asked

"I don't see what the big deal in me knowing is." He shrugged

"Because the more you know, the more you want to know and the more attached you get and when I have to leave, it's harder. I'm supposed to help you get back to normal." She reasoned

"You're the only one who makes me feel normal" he said then, sipping his drink

"What do you mean?"

"Well, everyone else looks at me differently or talks to me differently" he explained

"They know you, Troy. They know the person you were before and they can see the changes in you since the accident. I'm coming in halfway through" she said

"No, that's not it." He argued "You never once looked down on me. Not even when you walked in my room and it was disgusting"

"And why would I? Why would anyone?" she challenged

"People do, all the time. People aren't like you."

"You need to show them who you are, Troy. You need to stand up for yourself" she pointed out.

"That's the problem. I feel like I don't know who I am anymore" he shared

Gabi looked into his eyes, seeing his turmoil.

"It's tough" she murmured, chewing her lower lip which his eyes were magnetized to, wishing he could kiss her. "I know how you feel" she frowned, wondering why all of a sudden she felt like she was lost. Lost in those pools of blue-grey. Lost in Houston. Lost with James, with her life.

Troy watched her delicate face crease with worry and he was tempted to reach out and touch her. It had been so long since he'd had feelings like this. So long since he'd allowed himself to feel like this. If he even entertained the thought of women he usually ended up frustrated.

"You seem pretty sorted to me" he commented and Gabi snapped out of her thoughts, shocked at herself for being so selfish and losing her cool yet again.

"I'm not important" she said "It's how _you_ feel that's important. And we need to work out what makes you, you"

He looked at her, wishing she hadn't gone and spoilt the moment with the psycho-shit but ultimately knew she had to.

"Did you think I'd want to play basketball in a wheelchair?" he asked.

"I thought you might like to consider it" she hedged.

He thought for a moment "I need to go back to an Aces game, feel the energy, the team spirit"

"You do?" she asked "Are you sure you want to go back when you can go forward?"

"I just need to see how it feels" he said more strongly

"Okay" she nodded "Well I'm sure you can set that up"

"Will you come with me? I mean, I'd like you to" he offered

Gabi knew she had promised to be there for him when he was ready to do this. She hadn't expected it to come this quickly but she couldn't deny him now the moment was here.

"Okay" she agreed "But only if you buy me a hotdog" she bargained

His eyes lit up as he looked at her "Hot dog!" he laughed "You are one cheap date" he joked

"Thanks. I think" she frowned and he wanted to see her smile

"And you are important" he said of her earlier comment and she met his eyes "I like hearing about other people's lives. Not many people do that anymore, tell me their problems" he said and she nodded.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you everyone for your amazing comments as usual. 2 days until I see Zac!! Wish me luck. **

**CHAPTER 6**

Gabi was finding it really hard to work out why Troy had been such a problem case as they drove toward the shop for groceries.

So far he'd been nothing more than a bit bristly, which was to be expected, but the times he had opened up far outweighed those tense moments.

"Do we have to go shopping?" he asked with a whine.

"Why do you hate shopping so much?" she wondered.

He stared moodily out of the window.

"Well?" she asked again.

He mumbled something and she looked to him briefly, pulling up in a parking space.

"Sorry?" she looked to him.

"I can't reach the shelves while I'm in the wheelchair" he muttered.

"Why don't you try walking round? If you get tired I can come and get a wheelchair" she suggested.

His eyes met hers. She was always challenging him.

"Sure, why not, I'll get even more looks on crutches" he mused as he got put of the car and they headed into the store.

He was five minutes into the shop perusing the fresh vegetables when a young child tugged him on the trouser leg.

"You're the basketball guy" he said, awed .

Troy stared at the small being and wondered how the hell he recognized him when he was covered in a beard and beanie.

"Was" he adjusted, then felt bad when the kid bit his lip "You got something you want signed, buddy?" he asked more gently

The kid nodded and held out a player card with all his credentials on.

"You're my favourite player an' you're the only one I don't got" he said as Troy took the pen and the card and signed it, balancing on his crutches as he juggled the things in his hands

"Well, work hard, dude and eat your greens, you'll be on the team in no time" he said gently as he handed the bits back to the kid and the kid ran off excitedly, jumping up and down as he found his dad.

Gabi watched Troy throughout the whole sequence whilst beaming a huge smile at seeing his selflessness. It clicked to her then, that this was why he didn't like shopping. Constant reminders of what might have been.

"That's a large cucumber" a voice said in her ear from behind and she jumped as she realized Troy had snuck up behind her.

"Very funny" she said drily, putting the cucumber down and turning to meet his twinkling eyes, frowning as she found herself eyeing his lush lips.

"Okay well seeing as you're holding the basket, here's some things for me" he said, dropping in some tomatoes

"Salad?" she queried

"Spag bol. I'm gonna make it from scratch" he said and headed off again, picking up an onion and garlic bulb, too.

"Aha, secret chef in our midst" she smiled

"Not really. I just like nice food. And I don't often have much reason to make it"

"You do tonight?" she asked with interest "Hot date?"

"I don't know if I'd call it a hot date" he said, eyeing her "But I wondered if you'd like to come for dinner?" he asked, knowing he was putting himself out on a limb here.

Gabi stared at him. It had taken a lot of courage for him to ask that. But it could so easily come across the wrong way if she said yes. And if she said no, it could so easily put them back to square one.

She twisted her mouth as she thought about his question and Troy had trouble keeping the smile from his face. What he would do right now to kiss her.

Gabi sensed Troy leaning toward her and swished her lashes up to him, seeing his smile as his eyes focused on her lips and he tilted his head a little.

"I don't think it's a good idea" she said softly, breaking the spell between them.

Troy frowned as she moved away, cursing himself for wanting to kiss her.

Gabi busied herself looking at fresh bread, her heart pounding loudly in her chest as she ached to feel his lips on hers. She was in way too deep here. She contemplated asking to be taken off the case but she knew that would just cause too many problems.

"Its just dinner" he said behind her once more as she turned and put the loaf into the basket at the same time she faced him. "I wanted to say thank you for today" he added.

Gabi knew she was going to go. She couldn't not go. There was something deep inside her that wanted to play this dangerous game and get to know Troy better.

But she didn't know how she would justify it if anyone asked her. What would she say? I fell for his deep blue eyes?

"On one condition" she began and he closed his eyes, smiling an upside down smile as he tipped his head back

"Oh god here we go" he joked

"We do something together. You can pick what it is. But it has to be something that requires two people and shows me that you're serious about making changes. I want to see the determination you used to get you into the Aces" she challenged

"Wow, you're already going for the big one huh?" he considered

"That's my terms" she repeated

"Okay. It's a deal" he said, rubbing his lips together as he thought about what he could arrange for them to do.

---

Gabi returned to Troy's house later that evening. Stumped for what to wear, she had chosen some loose tracksuit bottoms with her Ugg boots and a white vest and zipped hoodie combination. She didn't want to dress up and give him the wrong idea but she hoped he didn't think she was a total slob.

He opened the door and she blinked a few times, wondering if the man in front of her was Troy, or had some film star twin of his snuck into the house?

His hair was still too long over his ears but he had tidied it back off his face so it fell in a long fringe over one eye. He was clean shaven, boasting some of the most breathtaking cheekbones she'd seen and she could actually see his strong jaw, too.

He'd put on a pale blue v neck t-shirt that brought out his eyes and some black jeans.

When he smiled, she was drawn to his mouth and she looked harder at him, noticing freckles on his nose. Gosh he was gorgeous. Why did it hide it all under his caveman look?

She was still staring at him as he smiled bemusedly, coughing a little awkwardly.

"Err, Hi" he said as the moment ticked on and her eyes were still studying his face. Did he really look that different, he wondered?

Gabi snapped back to reality and noticed Troy smiling at her, kind of looking at her funny, probably from her staring at him like a teenager with a crush.

"Hi" she said, nervously stroking her curly hair and she saw Troy's eyes follow her hand.

"Your hair looks nice" he said as he stood back to let her in, balancing on his crutches.

"Oh, thank you." She turned, frowning as she studied him some more "You look…" she began, thinking she couldn't say what she really thought or she'd be in deep trouble.

He laughed at her loss for words "Don't tell me I look like a Disney star, please, I get that ALL the time from the team and it's not funny" he joked as he led her into the kitchen.

"You look…amazing" she frowned, not sure that was a suitable substitute for 'sexy as hell'

He lifted his brows as he turned to her and she was taken by his jeans and bare-feet look. "Thank you Miss. Montez" he smiled genuinely "May I return the compliment and say you too are looking…amazing…tonight" he said, his eyes warm with amusement. She could have turned up wearing a black bag and he would have been happy but she looked so damn cute in her casual-wear.

She pursed her lips then, catching his look and blinking off his flirting "I always look amazing" she said jokily.

"That you do" he muttered as he went about stirring the sauce and Gabi wandered around the edge of his kitchen, looking at his photographs.

She picked up an action photo, smiling at the picture of Troy stretching his whole body to reach the basket, his full concentration on reaching the target.

"Oh, god, not that one" he groaned as he watched her across the room.

She looked at him over her shoulder and he was glad she was across the room as he felt the reaction in his groin.

She picked up another one of him in a suit, smiling inanely and she giggled.

He pretended to look hurt "Hey, I'm a heart-throb I'll have you know" he defended

"I'm sure" she murmured, unimpressed. She wandered over to the stove and watched him stirring the sauce, nosily looking over his shoulder.

"You don't think I am?" he asked like a little boy, pouting his lower lip out.

She rolled her eyes up at him, moving to sit at the table "Maybe to your fans" she allowed.

He chuckled "My fans?"

"Yeah, you know, the people who like you" she explained

"Are you a fan?" he asked

"I don't know, I haven't tried your food yet" she quipped.

He dished up the food onto two plates and Gabi got up to carry them over without him having to ask. He pulled out some Garlic bread from the oven and she took that and put in on a plate as he watched her from behind, his eyes following the curve of her waist over her lower back and down over her perfectly rounded backside. Even in those slouchy trousers she looked sexy, he mused.

They sat down, starting their food and he watched her closely as she tasted his meal.

Gabi's eyebrows lifted as she tasted it "Wow. This is actually quite good" she said, shocked

"You don't have to look quite so surprised" he complained gently and she smiled

"Sorry" she giggled "I didn't know you could cook"

He shrugged "I guess my mom taught me well"

"Did they come by today?" she asked interestedly.

He cast his eyes down "No, they called me instead. They're coming by tomorrow, they want to take me to rehab"

"Ah" she said simply, reading what he wasn't saying, even though she couldn't see his eyes.

He met her gaze, a battle showing in their depths.

She smiled "You don't have to look so worried. I've been through this more times than you'd think."

"Really? You mean it's not just my parents that insulted you?" he asked drily

"It's not easy to have a stranger come in and tell you what to do. And it's not easy to look at the bigger picture. And no disrespect to anyone, but I have a job to do and I have to hurt people's feelings sometimes to do it. But I know, at the end of it, that it's for the best result." She said confidently.

"Well you hurt my feelings ALL the time" he said-mock seriously to make her laugh and she smiled

"Only because you have an insatiable ego that needs constant stroking and I, for one, will not be the one to inflate it any further" she said haughtily

Troy stared at her, willing his body down at hearing Gabi use the words 'insatiable' and 'stroking' in the same sentence.

"Wow, I'm glad I have someone to keep me real" he nodded sagely

"So what's your thing for us to do?" she asked then, taking the garlic bread and eating it with gusto

He looked at her for a moment with a smile in his eyes that he was fighting to keep off his lips. Gabi knew exactly what he was thinking and she didn't like the hot shiver that ran down her spine and the tingling she felt between her thighs. An image popped into her mind of his naked torso and she took a breath to remove it.

"Well I hope you have a jacket because we're going to clear out the garage" he said carefully, flicking his eyes up to hers.

"What?!" she said, thinking she hadn't heard right

"We're going to…" he began again

"I heard" she stopped him "Why on earth do I get to clear out your junk?" she wondered loudly

He had to laugh at her face. "Well I have about ten boxes of basketball stuff that I want to go through and throw out anything I don't need anymore. Which should be most of it. But I'd like you to help me decide what to keep." He explained

Gabi was pleasantly surprised. She had no idea he had it in him. The first day she had come here he had been like a lazy fifteen year old who was afraid to go outside and who was suffocated by over-protective parents.

The guy sat in front of her was smart, clean, motivated and oh-so-sexy. She mentally slapped herself for her last thought.

"That's a great idea" she said "But I don't have a jacket. Have you got something I can borrow?" she asked

"Sure, can you run up to my room, there's a hoodie on the back of my chair?"

She lifted a brow and went up the stairs, venturing into his room and found it was clean, tidy and smelled like air freshener. He had deliberately sent her up here so she could see the changes he had made.

She came down, pulling his hoodie over her smaller one and looked down at the sleeves gulfing her small hands. She walked into the kitchen, trying to pull them up, giggling so much she couldn't quite do it.

"Hey look at you, all tiny in my huge coat" he smiled, and then realized he sounded like he was talking to her like he would talk to a girlfriend.

He came over to her, taking the sleeve and gently rolled it back as her eyes flicked up to his and for a moment he lost himself in them.

She licked her lips and it almost undid him as he took the next sleeve and repeated the action, hovering in front of her.

"Okay I'm good" she smiled, pulling her long curls from the back of the jacket and rearranging them over her shoulders.

He reached out for her hair, then stopped himself as her eyes gave him a warning.

"Okay let's get started" he husked, moving away on his crutches.


	7. Chapter 7

**Emily-Jane well I never knew you were a long time fan haha. Thank you for letting me know and thank you for following me here x (and sorry for not knowing)**

**Apologies Anon for my severe lack of correct punctuation. I'm sorry if it derived from the story. Seeing as this is already written it will take me a bit longer to correct the chapters before I post so do bear with me on that point…**

**I will be seeing Zac on Graham Norton show I got an audience ticket and fingers crossed at the UK premiere the next day too! **

**Enjoy while I'm away I expect to return to millions of reviews haha! Or no Zac news for any of you…**

**CHAPTER 7**

Gabi pulled down the first box from the shelf in the cool garage and was covered in dust.

She coughed, brushing the residue from his jacket and her trousers "I'm so glad I didn't dress up" she commented

"I'm sorry" Troy apologized, coming over from having tied a bandana around his head using the mirror of his truck parked at the back of the garage.

Gabi's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him but the dust caused her to choke and she bent double, her eyes watering at the pressure of her coughs.

"Oh Jesus, don't die on me" he prayed as he gently patted her back, his arm going around her waist to support her.

She stood up a little as she took slow breaths. "That bandana should be illegal" she muttered as she regained her composure

"Mm?" he asked, looking into her face as she straightened and she noticed his arm snugly around her small waist.

"Nothing" she lied, blushing a little

He frowned a tiny frown, the action just marring his features a little, just enough to make him look sexy.

Her eyes were just about level with his lips from her lower position and she had to close her eyes to break her urge to kiss him. She really didn't know where these urges were coming from. Last week she had been happily laid on the sofa with her fiancé, the man she was going to marry and now here she stood, fighting her own mind- and body- over some twenty year old patient she'd only just met.

She was barely 23 but she considered the fact she was having an early mid-life crisis.

She was probably only having these feelings for Troy because of what was happening with James. Everything felt uncertain in her life right now and this was just her way of dealing with it. That must be it.

"You okay now?" he checked and she nodded, moving from his arm and pulling the next box down so he could have one too.

She took the box to the work bench for him and knelt over hers a few feet away from him.

"Are you sure you don't mind me seeing this stuff?" she asked, looking up and meeting his thoughtful gaze.

He was a little nervous about doing this she could tell, but he was doing it all the same.

"Its okay" he assured her "I asked Chad but he was kinda busy and seeing as you're the only other person still talking to me, I didn't have much choice" he said

"Well I like talking to people who hate me. It's fun" she shrugged, smiling as she said it

"I don't hate you" he said, opening his box and his face becoming clouded as he focused on the contents.

She busied herself with her own box, wanting to reassure him, to make him smile again.

"Oh wow" she said softly, taking out pictures from underneath some pennants and badges.

Troy was deep in his own world as he pulled put one of his old basketball kits. One that he had worn when he was in the junior team at school.

Basketball had been in his blood since the day he was born. Could he really just erase it like it never existed? If his dad hadn't been a basketball player, he might have never even thought about it.

But he liked being fit; he liked throwing his body around, the feel of the ball. And he missed it. He missed it so much he wondered how basketball had made up such a large part of him. What was Troy Bolton without basketball?

He wished he knew. All he knew was that he was going stir crazy sat in the house the whole time. He needed to work harder at rehab; he had to set himself some goals. He was determined to get back to some kind of normality so he could at least think about what to do with his life.

He was twenty years old and he felt twice his age as he battled with what he had lost the day of the accident. He'd lost his body, his mind and his identity and he was getting it all back, bit by bit; but he was resigned to the fact he would never put a basketball kit on again.

Troy didn't even realize he was crying until he felt Gabi's hand stroke his hair, trailing down to his shoulders as he rocked with sobs.

Gabi didn't know what to say to him, she just knew he had to cry his pain out. She rubbed his back, murmuring to him until his crying subsided.

He wiped his eyes, awkwardly facing away from her and Gabi moved back to give him space.

"I'm gonna get a coffee, you want one?" she asked lightly, her hands itching to stroke his hair again, it was so soft and shiny, but she told herself that these thoughts were no good. She should be thinking about James and trying to rebuild their relationship. If she hadn't left him then they might be planning their wedding right now instead of having tense conversations over the phone.

"Okay" Troy answered quietly and Gabi moved to make the drinks.

As she boiled the kettle, she couldn't help but think that James hadn't all of a sudden changed, but that she had just been missing it. Now that he was working on the Lexar deal he seemed to be even more distant, but for about a month things hadn't felt right.

If she took off her ring for work and forgot to put it back on he would get upset with her and yet she had found him talking to other women and he didn't see a problem with that. He wanted his cake and to eat it and she wasn't going to stand for it.

When she had fallen in love with him and moved to Houston, she had felt like it was the right thing to do, but it had quickly turned into a struggle for her. Being away from her friends was harder than she thought. And she didn't get much chance to socialize to meet new people with her type of work.

Coming home at the end of a tough day usually met with James trying to find out about her patients and her having to remind him she couldn't discuss it. What had started out as a warm, loving, very definitely sexual relationship had quickly turned into something not quite as supportive as she needed.

And here she was, contemplating thoughts of one of her own patients, of all people. She'd worked with men before, of all ages; she had never felt a spark like she did with Troy.

Maybe she had made a mistake in moving away from her home. Away from everything she knew. Maybe she should never have accepted James' proposal and put herself in this horrible situation.

"Did you go to Kenya for the coffee beans?" Troy asked from behind her as Gabi jumped lightly at the sound of his voice.

She took a breath, wiping the tear from her face that had trailed down as she had thought of how miserable she was and only just realizing it. Being with Troy was forcing her to look at her own life and realize how much else she had missed.

"It's all ready" she pasted on a smile and Troy noticed it, but didn't comment.

"Good, I'm getting bogged down in there all on my own" he complained

"I'm going to start 3 piles when I go back in. Pictures, memorabilia and clothes." She said determinedly

"Okay, sounds like a plan" he agreed, sipping his drink as he sat on a stool and watched Gabi at the counter. Her brown eyes had looked so sad when he came in.

"I'm going to make a start" she said, moving past him and back into his garage.

Troy followed and went back to his box, flicking glances at Gabi as he sorted his stuff into piles.

Feeling her hands on him as he'd cried and having her not make a big deal out of it was about the most amazing thing anyone had done for him in the last six months.

She methodically placed the items into three piles, picking up some more photos from the bottom of the box and smiling hugely

"Oh my god!" she screamed

"What?" he said, worried

"Little Troy!" she grinned "Ohh you were so fashionable!" she giggled, flicking through the pictures and he headed over

Gabi looked up to him and found he was blushing "Do you have to look at those?" he asked, screwing up his eyes as he put a hand over his face, leaving dust marks behind

She rubbed her lips together as she tried not to laugh "You do know you just got black stuff all over your face?" she asked, getting up to show him the pictures

He rolled his eyes "Great. Not only do you get to see me running around in…" he squinted at a picture "Oh geez, in my swimming trunks, but I also got a face covered in crap" he mused

She smiled, rubbing at his cheek to remove some of the worst of the dirt.

"I think you missed a bit" he said, his eyes shining as his mouth curled up at the edges.

She rolled her eyes up to meet his "Mmm, I'm sure I did" she said knowingly

"It's right here" he pointed at his mouth and Gabi giggled at him, thinking he really was so cute. If only she wasn't here to make him better.

"Nice try" she said and he smiled with good humour

"Please, put those away" he said, but she flicked through, falling on one of Troy in his Aces kit, with a girl dressed in short shorts and a vest top, posing next to him.

"Is that your ex-girlfriend?" she wondered aloud, taking in the girl's beautiful looks, her long dark hair. "Oh my gosh" she realized then, seeing her pom poms "she was a cheerleader"

Troy nodded, his teeth clenching together at the thought of Steph leaving him in his hour of need.

"She's going to be at the game…?" she asked

He shrugged "Maybe"

"That's why you didn't want to go. Not because of the game, because of her" she had put all the pieces together and Troy felt like his soul was exposed.

Yes, he was cut up over his ex- girlfriend's betrayal, especially when he had found out she started dating another junior member of the team the week after she dumped him.

"I want to get over that part of my life you know? A lot of bad things happened in one go and that's one of them, having it hit home to me just how undesirable I am now I can't even…" he stopped, embarrassed about what he was about to say. He thought about his words "Now I can't even take a girl out and offer her what any other guy could" he struggled

Gabi knew he was struggling with his loss of movement, and she knew it was common for her younger patients to feel less sexy, but she had never fancied any of them so it was easy to tell them that there was someone out there who would love them etcetera.

"I already told you not everyone is like that" she reminded him gently

"I know you're not like that" he hedged "But I don't know many girls who want to date a cripple"

"Nor do I" she said, shocking him "But I don't know any cripples" she argued, getting quite passionate as he saw a flush go across her cheeks "I know people who aren't able to move their body like everyone else, but I don't know any 'cripples'" she added pointedly "If you stop seeing yourself like that, maybe other people would too" she finished, breathing hard and Troy had never had anyone care so much about his criticism of himself.

He looked into her face, her mouth pouted a little in her urgency to convince him and he had to kiss her. He couldn't let her say something like that and not show her how much it meant to him.

But as soon as he moved forward to kiss her, she quickly moved away, avoiding his attempt at intimacy and he sighed, knowing he shouldn't have done that.

"Can I take the pictures?" she asked in a quiet voice and he turned to where she now stood at the work bench

"Err, sure…" he frowned

"I have an idea for them" she explained, meeting his gaze and their eyes locked for a moment, taking her breath away as his eyes told her of his attraction to her, flicking to her lips longingly.

"Awesome, I'll look forward to it. Whatever it is" he said, breaking the spell.

"I should be getting home" she said, packing up the pictures into one of the boxes and heading toward the kitchen where he followed until she reached the front door.

"Okay, well I hope you had fun" he joked and she smiled gently

"I won't be round tomorrow as I have a meeting with your parents at my office. I'm sure they'll take you to your physio session if you ask nicely" she added

"I'll see you Saturday?" he checked

"For the game, yes. What time?" she asked

"Come by about five" he suggested and she nodded

"Okay see you then" she said as she left and he watched her walk away, thinking how small she looked in his hoodie and how he longed to wrap her in his arms.


	8. Chapter 8

**Just a short chapter this one.**

**Thanks again for the comments and I had a nice number of reviews- 17! Yay (I hope I get 17 again haha)**

**I have returned from my London trip and will soon be posting an essay on my blog of my Zac news and hopefully my UK prem pics shortly too so keep an eye out for those! (****.****)**

**Briefly, he was amazing and I had an awesome time :)**

**CHAPTER 8**

Gabi's phone rang as she put the box in the back of the car and James' name flashed up.

"Hello," she said as she got into her car

"Hey babe," he slurred and she knew he was drunk

"How are you?" She asked carefully, really not sure where they stood anymore or what they had to talk about.

"I miss you babe," he said and she wished he wouldn't call her babe. It sounded so condescending the way he said it.

"Where are you?" He asked

"I'm just driving home now," she answered

"Its late, have you been out on the town?" He asked

"No, I've been busy with work. I haven't had a chance to go out yet," she replied gently

"I bet." He sneered

Gabi frowned. "You think I'm lying?"

"I bet you've been sleeping with other men while you're away," he accused and Gabi didn't recognize the person she was speaking to. Exactly what was he on?

"Well thank you for that lovely compliment, I am so glad you trust me," she said sarcastically, too shocked to say anything else

"I can't stop thinking about you," he whined then, his tone changing

"With other men." She accused

"I don't want other men to even look at you," he ground out

"You know what, James; call me when you're sober. I might at least get a margin of the respect I deserve from you," she sighed, ending the call and laying her head on her steering wheel before pulling away, her mind full of thoughts about her fiancé.

--

Troy found that physio was nowhere near as interesting without Gabi there to egg him on and challenge him. Bu he found he pushed himself, to make her proud of him and he even managed some extra laps on the bar with her in his mind to distract form the pain.

His dad had spent the whole trip over complaining about Gabi and asking Troy lots of questions about what she was like with him and he had just nodded along, avoiding telling them about their growing relationship. His dad already hated her. If he knew Troy had feelings for her, he'd no doubt have her taken away.

Showered, aching, but a lot looser in his body, Troy was dropped off at home as his parents went to their meeting with Gabi.

He briefly worried about what his dad might say so as he said goodbye at the door, he turned to him.

"Dad, take it easy on Gabi hey?" He asked

His dad frowned "She had no right to tell us to stay away," he re-iterated

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but she kind of did. I need some space." He said softly and his dad looked shocked and then hurt at his words.

"After all we've done for you," he began angrily.

"No, that's not what I'm saying…" Troy started but his dad turned his back and stalked off to the car.

"Mom…" He pleaded.

"I know. I know we've been too protective of you, but we thought we had lost you, Troy. And you've been so angry and reclusive. We felt like you needed us here. I'm glad Gabi came. You've changed. She's changed you," his mom said insightfully, moving to hug him and he clutched her to him, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I love you, mom." He said quietly and Linda began to cry

"I love you too," she said "And so does your dad"

"Will you look out for Gabi?" He begged

She smiled "I will."

----

Gabi prepared Troy's file and screwed her professional head on as she awaited the arrival of the Bolton's at her office.

She stood up while they were shown in and greeted them warmly, despite Jack staring at her.

"Hello again" she said nervously "I'm glad you could make our meeting, it gives us a chance to discuss Troy's progress" she began.

"I want someone else." Jack said firmly and Gabi lifted her brow.

"I don't want you to be influencing my son anymore" he said and Gabi panicked. Influencing him?

"I'm not sure what you mean, Jack?" She queried

"He's rude, ungrateful. Do you know what he told me today? That he needs space! After six months of looking after him, he all of a sudden wants to be cut off from us," he said angrily.

"But that's a good thing," Gabi said and looked into Jack's intimidating stare.

"What?" He spat.

"Jack honey, Gabi's right," Linda said then "The whole point in us having help for Troy was so that he could look after himself and work his way back to being independent. And he is. Look how far he's come in a week. He's shaving again, he's tidying up. I don't remember the last time I saw him smile before Gabi came and now he does" she argued

Jack looked between them and sighed, rubbing his face. "So what's the plan?" He asked tiredly.

"Well, I'd like to see him carrying out more tasks on his own or with friends and get him socializing again. The aim for me is that the patient doesn't feel as though their handicap is a handicap, but a part of them. And Linda, you're right. Troy's progress this week has been astounding. I'm sure it will continue if you can support him and let him have his space, too" she assured

"If he calls and he wants us to do his shopping?" Jack asked

"He's got to do it himself. Unless there's a good reason he can't," she added

"That's not going to be easy," he commented

Gabi smiled "I know"

Jack seemed to have calmed a little and he even thanked her as he left, Linda doing the same.

Gabi headed out of her office to get a coffee, the Manager of the health centre catching her as she waited for her cup to fill from the machine.

"Ah Gabi," he said as he saw her "Pop in for a minute?" He asked and she nodded, following him into his office

"Hello, Scott how can I help?" She asked

"I have a case file I'd like you to have a quick look at," he said, passing a file to her and she read the notes briefly, seeing it was a similar case to Troy's, but a younger girl of fourteen who was a gymnast and a nasty fall had left her injured and unable to fulfill her potential.

"Wow," she murmured, feeling bad already for the poor girl.

"I'd like you to take it on. If you can manage while you're here," he added

"Really, me?" She questioned, surprised

"Yes, you," he smiled, his brown eyes shining at her. "I brought you here to see Troy for a reason." He added

"Oh?" She questioned, thinking, I bet the reason wasn't so that I could fall for him?

She blinked at her own thought. No-one said anything about falling for anyone. She barely knew him; it wasn't possible to fall for someone you didn't know.

"Gabi?" Scott brought her back to the moment

"Mm?" She said, her heart pounding wildly in the chest

"I brought you here because I knew you'd get through to him. You have this thick skin and you just ignore the abuse and get on with it," he was saying

"But we all do…" She argued

"No, you have a talent. You just don't know it," he winked

"Okay, well I can split my time between the two…it might mean staying a bit longer than I planned…" She hedged

"Is that going to be a problem?" he asked "I know you have a fiancé back home, of course you can book time to go and see him," he said easily

"Thank you, I'll do that." Gabi said guardedly. Right now she didn't want to see him but that might change.

"Okay well I'll let you take charge of it," he said "Keep me posted"

Gabi nodded, leaving his office and realizing how serious it was that she had these feelings for Troy. But he was so close to becoming fully rehabilitated and she couldn't do it to herself. She loved being around him and she wasn't ready to lose that just yet.


	9. Chapter 9

**Firstly, thank you for your reviews, as always!!**

**Secondly, I have posted an account of my Zac experience on Zefron but I can't post a link here so if you go onto forum- look under the General Thread and I am named Zacefronitis x**

**CHAPTER 9**

Gabi stood nervously on Troy's porch, fiddling with her fingers as she waited for him to answer the door.

She had decided to dress up a little for the game but didn't want to look too OTT for a sports game so had chosen her skinny jeans with a pair of midcalf heeled boots that had buckles on the outside and paired it with a longline v neck vest and cropped cardigan, her hair loose and curly again. She'd also indulged in a little make up.

She had done this before, gone out socially with her patients and they were always surprised to see her out of work mode, but it also gave them a chance to realize that she wasn't just their mentor, she was a person too and that socializing was an important part of their rehab.

Troy opened the door, on his crutches, dressed in dark jeans with converse trainers and a white v neck tee top that stretched at the sleeves where his biceps lay, flexing as he gripped his crutches. She squinted up at his hair, glad to see it was still long and a little unruly. She was afraid he'd go and cut his hair too in his new, tidy phase.

His blue eyes were taking in her outfit, feet to eyes, stalling a little on her chest on the way up.

"You're my health worker?" he checked.

"I am" she smiled and Troy resisted the urge once more to kiss her, knowing it would not do him any good.

"Wow." He said, grabbing his jacket and heading out with her before he said anything else that got him into trouble.

He kept slipping looks at her while she was driving and she eventually noticed.

"What?" she asked "Do I have something on my face?"

"No, I just…you just look different, that's all" he commented.

"Different how?" she asked, intrigued.

"You're beautiful" He said and then he closed his eyes, realizing how that sounded

"Oh. Well, thanks" she said, frowning.

"No, that's not what I meant…" he sighed, sitting up in his seat, his hands palms up out in front of him.

"It's okay, I understand" she said, mock hurt "I'm an ugly duckling" she joked

"You are NOT ugly…" he argued "I meant to say, you're beautiful. Not that you look different because you look beautiful…"

Gabi parked the car and pursed her lips "I'm sure. Out you get, heartbreaker" she said and climbed out too.

"Gabi…" he attempted, pausing outside her car.

"It's ok, Troy, I was joking. Let's just go in shall we?" she suggested, letting him lead them into the sports centre, the noise and buzz instant as they stepped inside.

The DJ was talking, there were fans milling around, food stalls, and memorabilia for sale.

Troy tensed as he came inside the building, the sounds and smells so familiar, yet such a distant memory to him at the same time.

He bought them tickets and turned to hand one to her as they headed in, his face unreadable.

"What about my hotdog then?" she asked from his elbow.

"Huh?" he asked, turning from where he stared out at the court, his heart twingeing with regret.

Gabi looked into his eyes and saw his turmoil "The deal was you'd buy me a hotdog" she said determinedly.

"Oh, of course" he smiled but it didn't reach his eyes "How could I forget your demands?" he queried lightly.

"Demands?!" she joked "I'm hardly demanding" she argued.

"No?" he queried, his eyebrows lifting into his fringe as he smiled at her over his shoulder as they queued.

Without even realizing she was doing it, she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow, completely ignoring his crutch in the way.

Troy noticed but didn't say anything, he just scooted along in the queue. "I'm sure you demanded I clean my room" he said drily, smiling down into her face.

"Oh the cheek!" she accused, giggling.

"Hey,Bolton, who's the hottie?" a young guy called over to them and Gabi quickly released her hand from his arm and he closed his eyes wistfully.

"Hey, Chad" he said and the pair semi- hugged as Gabi watched on

"Hey" Chad said to her "I'm Chad, this cripple's my best friend" he joked and Gabi bristled.

"He's not a cripple" she said quietly, holding out her hand formally and Troy held back a grin as Chad lifted his eyebrows at him "I'm Gabriella Montez" she introduced herself.

"Troy's girlfriend?" he guessed.

"Health worker" she amended with a blank stare.

"Okaay. Dude, she's fierce" he said to Troy and Gabi rolled her eyes.

"So what's this, working vacation?" he asked.

"We came to check out a game" Troy supplied, edging closer to Gabi and out of the queue for the hotdogs.

"Well it's nice to meet the girl who finally got you out of your hole" Chad grinned and Gabi blushed.

"Woman" Troy corrected, frowning a little at his friend

"Oh sure, sorry." He shrugged "Well I gotta go warm up with the team, catch you two later" he said, disappearing into a crowd of fans as they rejoined the queue for the food, Gabi taking the hotdog and finding a seat next to Troy on the benches.

His eyes scanned the floor, checking the cheerleading squad and was relieved to see Steph wasn't among them.

He leaned back a little and watched her take a huge bite out of her hotdog, smiling as he watched her. She danced in her seat as the music played and the teams came out to warm up, Troy getting a few waves from his old team mates.

He waved back, his heart aching at how much he missed these guys, missed going out on a Saturday and Sunday night to play.

He sighed, leaning forward onto his thighs, the memories and aching loss taking him over for a moment.

"You're back seems better today" Gabi commented, distracting him from his thoughts.

He was glad she was here to do that or he might find himself getting pretty depressed.

"Yeah, it's not twinged yet, not since I got up" he said happily.

"That's really good. It's because of the extra work outs?" she checked.

He nodded "Seems so"

"So which position did you play?" she wondered, watching the team's position for face off.

"Shooting guard" he supplied.

"Oh" she said, not knowing what this was or the difference in positions.

He laughed, explaining the game to her as the players moved around the court.

During the break, Gabi went to buy drinks and Troy saw her coming back to her seat, someone stopping her before she quite made it. As soon as she blushed he knew she was being chatted up again. He didn't know why he felt a little stab of jealousy. He knew she was taken, but seeing some other guy flirting with her just reminded him she wasn't his and never would be.

"Here you go" she said, handing him a soda.

"Dinner again?" he asked and she frowned .

"Huh?"

"Are you going for dinner again?" he asked, lifting his chin toward the guy who was moving away now.

"Oh!" she blushed again and he felt his tummy contract with desire for her. "No, he was just asking the time" she joked, meeting his eyes.

"I told you you were beautiful" he said gently, sipping his drink as he covered his eyes by looking down.

"Oh my gosh, look!" Gabi said delightedly, grabbing his arm and pointing up to the big screen where a camera was scouring the audience and people were waving. It changed to 'Kiss Cam' and couples were hounded out and once caught, kissing each other as the crowd cheered.

"That's amazing!" she smiled and the next thing they knew, their faces came up on screen.

Gabi laughed and he looked at her, not missing his chance, gently touching her jaw to bring her face round to his and he leaned forward, kissing her softly on the mouth, causing a loud roar from the crowd around them.

Gabi felt the zing go all the way through her body. She touched her mouth in shock as though she had been burnt, her eyes wide with wonder and confusion.

Troy's eyes lazily appreciated her face as his breath fanned across her skin and just as she thought he was going to kiss her again, he moved back, sipping his drink again while she sat; shocked, stunned and most definitely turned on.

She laughed at herself for being turned on by a stupid kiss. It was a kiss for God's sake! But oh, what a kiss. She wasn't sure what to do as he just sat there acting like nothing had happened. She turned back to the game, sipping her soda, her body alive with awareness.

Troy sipped his drink, pretending Gabi wasn't staring at him like that. Inside he was smiling like a crazy person. Seeing the look on her face after he had kissed her made it all worth it. Everything he had been through, everything he had struggled with; without it, he wouldn't be here watching Gabi rocked to her socks by his kiss.

He leaned back on his hands as he curled them around the back of the bench and he felt her jostling in her seat as she got agitated about the team's plays and she ended up snuggled into his side, looking forlorn as the Aces let in a basket and they went down from there.

He was so tempted to put his arm around her but he knew he was pushing it by kissing her. At least now he knew it wasn't just a crush. There was definitely chemistry between them.

The next break in play came and Gabi excused herself to go to the toilet, splashing cold water on her face when she made it there.

What had she been thinking? Oh just an innocent basketball game to help Troy get back to normal. Already they'd kissed and the night wasn't over yet!

She took a few deep breaths, heading back to her seat and finding Troy surrounded by fans.

He looked so awkward but not as closed off. He was chatting to the group of two guys and a girl quite easily. It reminded her how much she missed her friends. She'd have to call her best friend, Alex and remind herself what it was like to speak to a fellow female.

When he saw her hovering at the edge of the row he smiled, standing up without his crutches to beckon her into the crowd and the girl moved to allow her past.

"Gabi, meet Greg, Joe and Tam" he introduced

"Hi" she smiled warmly, taking the small space left next to Troy as he sat down again, the fans staying near them.

Troy's arm seemed to wrap itself around behind her, resting on the other side of her hip against the bench as he chatted with the fans on his side and Tam turned to face her.

"Hi" she said shyly and Gabi smiled at her.

"Hi. You're a fan of Troy's too?" Gabi asked.

The girl shrugged "He is kinda cute" she blushed "Are you his girlfriend?" she asked.

Troy turned from his conversation with the boys to look at Gabi.

"No, I'm not. He's still single, there's hope for you yet" Gabi said warmly and the girl giggled, then blushed again as she caught Troy watching them.

Gabi turned to him "Hey, this is girl talk." She complained.

He held up his hands with a big grin, flashing his teeth and Gabi blinked, thinking that's the first time she had seen him grin like that since she had met him.

"Sorry ladies" he apologized, turning back to the two boys to talk about basketball some more.

"Do you think he's cute?" Tam asked her and Gabi lifted her brows. Oh geez.

She coughed "Sure" she coughed out.

"Really? That's awesome." She smiled.

Gabi's eyes went wide "It is?" she worried.

"Yeah, he was just telling me how he thinks you're pretty" she smiled and Gabi felt a little faint. He'd been talking about her? To a teenage girl? And said she was pretty. Again.

"Is that so?" Gabi asked, a little breathless

"Troy!" Tam called and Gabi stared at her.

Troy turned again from his chat with the guys. "Yes, Tam?" he asked patiently as Gabi tensed in between them, sending a prayer heaven-ward.

"Did you ask Gabi out yet?" she asked and Troy glared at her, blushing as Gabi just giggled lightly, deliriously.

"Err you know what Tam? I believe the game is about to start again, you guys better get back to your seats" he suggested and Tam smiled winsomely at him.

Gabi had never been more aware of having someone's arm around her. Why didn't she feel like this with James? Had she ever been in love with James? Why on earth had she dropped everything to be with him when it wasn't the real thing? Maybe she was confusing love with lust? It's not like she loved Troy.

Gabi hunched over in her seat, her bewilderment at her sudden crisis becoming a little too much. She folded her arms and picked at imaginary fluff on her jeans as she thought about the reasons she left New York. She could only think of one, and it was James.

She felt Troy's hand lightly brush up her back to rest on her shoulder as he leaned over to her ear "Are you okay?" he murmured.

Gabi straightened, shrugging off his hand and he looked a little hurt by her action. She bit her bottom lip in regret and he squinted at her a little, trying to read her eyes but his gaze kept dropping to her mouth and she didn't think it fair he kept eyeing her lips like that.

"YEahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!" the crowd erupted into loud applause as the Aces won the game on the final buzzer and Gabi looked to Troy, who looked at her for a few second then stood up, cheering and whooping his team mates, Gabi following suit after taking a steadying breath.


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you for your awesome reviews that never fail to make me smile!**

**Reading this story back, the last few chapters seem to run through everything quite quickly so apologies if it seems rushed!**

**This is one of my favourite chapters I'll see if anyone picks out why before I tell you…**

**CHAPTER 10**

"You hungry?" he asked as they headed out to the car, the tension between them almost visible as Gabi rubbed her lips together, thinking. She was hungry but she knew it wasn't the best idea to prolong the evening.

Not if she wanted to keep her job and her wits.

"No, I'm good, I should be getting back" she said carefully.

Troy followed her to the driver side of her car and balanced on one leg as he reached for her hand and let his crutches hang from his arms.

"There's lots of things you should be doing" he husked.

Her eyes widened, mis-understanding his meaning. "You have every right to request a new mentor" she sighed, accepting he could easily report her for her unprofessional behaviour. She may have done all of these things with other patients, apart from kiss them, but she had never felt like this about any of them, that's for sure.

"You should be letting me take you for dinner" he continued, undeterred and Gabi met his gaze once more, gently frowning as she finally got his meaning. "You should be relaxing and forgetting about work. You should be smiling instead of letting that frown take over your beautiful face"

Gabi's heart flipped over in her chest. Why did she feel like this was so, so right when it was blatantly, fiercely, earth shatteringly wrong?

"I think it's pretty obvious there's something on your mind. Why don't we go for some food and we can talk about it?" he offered.

"Because" she said, not actually finding a reason to deny him.

"We can be friends as well can't we?" he asked.

"Honestly? Not really" she said starkly, seeing his eyes squint as she hurt his feelings again.

"Why not? I'm a guy. You're a girl. Your work day is over. I'm offering you an ear" he shrugged, still stood in front of her, balancing on his crutches now that she'd taken her hand back.

She considered him and knew she would give in. She just couldn't help herself. An extra hour in his company was way too appealing to her right now.

"Okay get in" she relented, taking them to the pizzeria nearby and they were seated in a booth at the back.

"There you go, Mr. Bolton" the maitre'd said as he seated them and Troy looked back at him, not realizing he had recognized him.

"Popular guy" Gabi commented as they sat down and looked at their menus. She could feel his feet under the table and briefly wondered if he was playing footsie but he seemed to settle them on the outside of hers, after checking under the table where there was room.

He rubbed his forehead "Yeah, but only for basketball" he mused.

"You don't know that" she encouraged.

"Well that's all they know of me. That I could play ball" he shrugged.

"They might know more than you think. You're a fairly friendly guy" she said awkwardly.

His eyes flicked up to hers under his lashes and she felt her stomach flop. "I'm a miserable asshole" he said with a little smile.

"No you're not" she argued.

"Well, not now, maybe. But I was for six months before you came" he reasoned.

"Well they know you from before that" she insisted.

"And I was just a kid with a good jump shot."

"Troy, you really have got to stop being so negative" she said, her body tight with frustration at his continued put-downs. "You have so much going for you" she said softly.

"Really?" he asked, his eyebrow flicking a tiny inch as his intense gaze met hers and he chewed his lip "I don't see girls queuing up outside my door" he said pointedly.

"Life's not just about girls" she said back "Or maybe it is for you?" she checked.

He gave a wry smile "Obviously not"

"Do you really feel the way you feel because your girlfriend left?" she asked.

He shrugged "Maybe."

"You really feel like the only thing anyone could ever see in you is the fact you played basketball?"

"That I was athletic" he said "You know, that I had muscle and I was considered kinda attractive for it"

"And your personality?" she checked.

His eyes met hers again, thinking about her point here. Had he only ever dated girls who had liked him for his body? She was probably right. He had liked having a trophy girlfriend. But they hadn't been interested in him as a person. So the reason Steph had left was only because his body didn't work. He could still find love with someone who loved him for being him and didn't care about his physical appearance.

He thought about how Gabi had tucked her hand into his arm, despite his crutches, how she had looked past his beard and messy hair and rank clothes, how she had helped him without making a big deal of it and how she was still obviously attracted to him despite everything he had thrown at her.

"My personality" he said, considering his words, thinking some more as she smiled at the waiter, taking their drinks and sipping hers.

"Gosh Troy, who were you before I came?" she wondered suddenly.

"Obviously a total prick" he said, smiling at his realization.

Gabi giggled, her smile filling her face as she laughed at him and he liked that the tension between them lifted a little after that.

"You know that if you let it happen, someone will fall for you. When you're ready" she added, a little flustered at the thought of anyone falling for Troy.

What was she saying? She was saying the same thing she said to all of her patients, but she didn't want anyone else to fall for Troy. She suddenly felt very possessive over him and she didn't know why.

"Does someone love you?" he asked and Gabi was shocked by his gentle question.

"I don't know any more" she admitted quietly, flicking her eyes up to his, unsure she should continue.

"I won't tell anyone" he promised and she could feel her resolve weaken. Just to have this one night, free of work, free of their patient-doctor type relationship, to just talk to a friend was too great a pull.

"I'm engaged to be married" she said, continuing her story "But I feel like I said yes and I shouldn't have. And since I got on the plane to come here, all we do is argue. And I'm wondering why I ever made the decision to leave my home" she sighed, realizing it was too late to go back and erase her words. She had just let him into her heart that little bit more and he wasn't going to leave easily.

"Wow" he husked, his brows slowly lifting into his fringe. He cupped her feet with his to bring her gaze up as he leaned across the table, playing with a spoon as he attempted to take her hand but ran out of courage.

He dropped the spoon, his blue eyes steady on hers as he stretched his fingers out and Gabi put her small hand into his, the contact causing an electric zip just like his kiss had, but after that she just felt warm all over as she relaxed, realizing that she could trust him with this.

"It sounds like you're having second thoughts" he swallowed, hoping he was some tiny part of why she was feeling this way.

"I left all my friends so quickly and all I had was him. It's not enough anymore" she added, still nervous about revealing her private feelings.

"Do you love him?" he asked, his tummy tight as he waited for her answer

She pressed her lips together, already knowing the answer but she didn't want to say it out loud for fear of huge repercussions.

"I'm not sure any more" she said quietly.

The waiter brought over their pizza's and Gabi broke their hand contact but was bolstered by his feet hugging hers and she bit into her food, taking a breath as she tried to pull herself out of the quagmire of confusion that was drowning her.

"Maybe you should see him" Troy suggested lightly.

"Mm?" she questioned.

"Maybe, if you saw him, you'd know how you felt and be able to talk things through" he said again and Gabi realized he was right.

"I can't face him right now, but I think you're right" she conceded.

"Well you know, rumour once had it I was a very intelligent guy" he joked, his smile threatening to break free but waiting for her permission.

She peeked at him, her mouth pursing as she fought off her own grin "Really? When was that?" she asked .

"Wooah!" he called loudly "That was harsh!" he grinned then and Gabi loved the lines that crinkled at the corners of his eyes, the way the blue depths lit up, how his teeth flashed against his lips.

She laughed gently at his apparent offense "You did say you're a good listener" she allowed.

"And am I?" he checked, leaning his head toward her over the table as he sought her gaze.

She reached over and swapped a piece of her pizza with his "You'll do" she smiled.

"Oh I see. I lend my considerably sympathetic ear to you for the night and all I get is abuse" he carried on, trying the piece of pizza she had laid before him, smiling at her for doing the swap.

"Thank you" she said suddenly and he looked at her, taking in her small features, her pouty mouth which he knew now just how soft her lips were.

"Any time" he said easily "And I mean it" he added, going back to his pizza.

Gabi paid for the bill even though Troy tried to and she followed him back to the car as he took large strides with his crutches.

They got in and Gabi drove off, getting a little nervous at what she had to tell him.

"I have a new case to take on while I'm here" she broached carefully.

"Oh?" he asked.

"I'm going to be splitting my time between you both and seeing as you're doing so well, you won't need me around as much" she added.

Troy frowned "Okay"

"I'll be coming over on Tuesday, we should go shopping" she suggested.

"We went shopping last week" he gruffed, annoyed that he wouldn't see her on Monday and he had nothing to look forward to.

"How about clothes shopping?" she suggested.

He shrugged moodily "I guess"

"Its kind of how it works for me" she said gently "My boss asked me to stay in Albuquerque longer to look at this case"

He sighed a little, realising she wasn't just doing this to get away from him. And that she had just said she was staying longer than planned.

"Okay" he said "We'll go clothes shopping. You're obviously trying to tell me I dress like a hobo and need new clothes" he joked again.

"Of course" she agreed.

"And you might buy something?" he checked.

"Might do" she agreed.

"From Agent provocateur?" he said hopefully.

She rolled her eyes at him as she pulled up outside his house "You can dream, heartbreaker" she said sarcastically.

"Is that my new nickname?" he asked as he undid his seatbelt "Heartbreaker?"

She scrunched up her face in thought "Sure."

"Okay. See you Tuesday Miss. M" he said, climbing out and heading up to his door unaided.

---


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok, the reason I like the last chapter is because of him hugging his feet around hers- that came to me in a flash and it's one of my fave things I've written about Troy haha.**

**CHAPTER 11**

Bright and early, Troy moved around his kitchen without his crutches as he laid out breakfast, smiling as he heard a knock on his door and knew it was Gabi as he felt the nerves flutter through his tummy at seeing her again.

He'd put on some ripped jeans and a long sleeve white top that showed off his muscles in the hope she might at least fall for his physical charms if nothing else. But after what she had said about personality, he wasn't sure if it would do the trick.

He checked his appearance in the mirror before he opened the door. His hair was newly cut, shining with health and he smiled at himself, checking he had nothing between his teeth.

He opened the door and Gabi stood in front of him, small and gorgeous, her hair in two plaits at either side of her head and she had on his beanie, which he frowned at as he recognized it.

She was also wearing his jacket he noted as he stepped back to let her in with a sweep of his hand.

"Hi" she greeted, rubbing her hands together.

"Hi. Err isn't that my stuff?" he checked and she nodded.

"Yeah, you lent me your jacket after the clear out remember?" she checked "And I found this in the pocket" she said of the hat, taking it off "I hope you don't mind…" she checked, looking up at him and staring at him.

"No, its fine"

"You cut your hair" she said sadly and he tipped his head to one side.

"You don't like it?" he wondered, shocked.

"No…I mean. No it's not that" she blushed, thinking damn am I that transparent?

"It's okay, I understand if you don't like it. I can handle it" he said bravely, smiling at her.

"I just liked it longer, that's all" she said gently "Its just hair" she added.

"Okay, so tell me you haven't eaten breakfast?" he asked.

"I haven't eaten breakfast" she repeated.

"Have you?" he checked.

"No" she answered, frowning confusedly at him.

"Okay, then come through…" he said, limping through to the kitchen.

"No crutches?" she asked .

"I'm trying it out" he said "It hurts like fuck but I'm determined I can do it" he added.

"Troy…" she lifted her brows as she smiled at him "If it hurts that much you probably shouldn't be doing it"

"Wanna give me a massage?" he asked, waggling his brows as he held a chair out for her at the table which was covered in breakfast goodies.

She sat down; eyeing the food with interest, then watched him sit down opposite her.

She would love to give him a massage she thought as she eyed his muscled arms then dropped her gaze to allow herself a little peek at his chest, too.

"No I'm good, thanks" she lied, pressing her lips together as she took some pastries and began adding butter and jam.

Troy smiled secretly, having caught her looks. He was glad he'd worn this top now.

"You're not like any other woman I know" he said then.

"I'm hoping this is a compliment" she said unsurely, taking a bite of her croissant, some jam smudging onto her face and he just automatically reached across the table to wipe it away with his finger, making her blush.

She wiped her mouth self-consciously after he pulled his finger away and he licked it before eating his own pastry.

"I never met a girl who wasn't afraid to eat" he explained through his mouth full of food.

She lifted her eyebrows "Oh great. I'm a pig aren't I?" she mocked.

He lifted one brow "No. You're just…" he fished for the right word, the only one popping into his mind being 'gorgeous'.

Her stare at him told him he had actually said that out loud.

"Oops" he smiled, blushing himself at his gaffe "Well lets skip over that awkward moment and you can tell me what your case was like yesterday?" he suggested.

"I can't talk about my cases. To anyone" she added quickly.

"Not even your friends?" he asked, awed

She shook her head.

"Fiancé?"

"Not even him" she said, wondering if it was fair to call him her fiancé when she knew she wasn't going to marry him and she had realized she wasn't in love with him anymore, either.

"Wow" he looked stunned "I'm really killing the conversation today huh?" he said lightly and she smiled, glad he didn't start up a fight like she was used to.

The fact she had gone quiet told him a lot. She was thinking about her fiancé because that frown had perched on her forehead again.

"He doesn't like you doing this job?" he guessed of her fiancé and Gabi finished her breakfast, sipping her coffee, which he had made just how she liked it without even knowing how she liked it.

"I never really thought of it that way. I just know he asks a lot of questions that I can't answer and he gets angry about it…" she trailed off, cursing herself for falling into this trap again with him. He reached out and touched her wrist ever so gently and she lifted her face to him, smiling at his tiny but significant gesture.

"Okay well once you've hoovered up my weekly breakfast rations" he joked again, returning her smile "We'll go get me some banging clothes" he quipped.

"Okay. So how are we getting there?" she queried lightly.

"Your car" he said quickly.

"Uh-uh" she shook her head "You're not gonna have my car when I'm not here. How else would you get to the shop?"

"I wouldn't" he scoffed and then realized she was serious.

"How else?" she asked again.

"Bus or walk" he thought aloud "But I don't know I could walk that far which would mean taking the wheelchair and that's just gonna be a nightmare in the shops" he sighed heavily.

"Bus it is then" she smiled; glad she had chosen her comfy flat boots "Do you want your jacket back too?" she asked, shrugging out of it to hand it to him and he eyed her shoulder which was bare under her loose necked jumper.

He wanted so badly to drop a kiss there and further along her collarbone, feel how she would react, taste her skin, hear her breath quicken.

"What are you gonna wear?" he asked.

"Your beanie?" she said timidly and he took the hat from his pocket and handed it back to her, then stood and handed her the jacket back too

"You may as well keep it a bit longer" he suggested, secretly loving the fact she was wearing his clothes

Her brown eyes blinked at him, knowing she was giving out the wrong signal by wearing his clothes, but she loved the feel of being in them, having his larger clothes dwarf her just as she'd like to have his body dwarfing hers.

"I promise I won't tell" he added cheekily and she knew she was on dangerous ground. Not only was she contemplating a relationship with one of her patients, but he was aware of her duplicity too.

"Ready?" he asked and she shook herself mentally.

"Absolutely" she said as they headed out.

---

On the bus, Troy joked with her and Gabi found her hand curling around his elbow again as she laughed at him.

"So you gonna come for dinner again on Thursday?" he asked as they wandered around some men's shops and Gabi picked out some jeans and tops for him.

"Are you going to food shop?" she checked

"Is that the deal?" he asked interestedly.

He liked the way she made his tasks into a game. She would come for dinner if he shopped alone. Why couldn't the others have done that? Why did they make it seem like such a chore?

"That's the deal" she said.

"How will you know if I cheat?" he asked.

"I'll sit down the street in my car all day and watch you" she giggled.

"Help! Security! I have a stalker!" he called and she rushed over to him to slap him gently on the arm.

"Get in the changing room and try these on" she said.

"All of them?" he panicked, knowing how long it took him to get changed.

"Okay just a couple of the tops" she decided, picking out her favourite two which he eyed warily.

"Okay, okay, you gonna come and watch?" he asked, then laughed at his slip of the tongue "I mean, see what they look like" he amended awkwardly.

She nodded "Sure"

Standing outside the cubicle as he tried on the first top she had picked out, Gabi waited as he stepped out from behind the curtain and modeled the black shirt.

Her eyebrows lifted as her breath caught "Wow" she said honestly.

"Good wow?" he queried "or ugly wow?"

"Good wow" she said, awed at the way his blue eyes and newly smart hair made him look with the black shirt on.

"Awesome" he said, going back in and trying on the pale blue ribbed jumper.

"Ta daa!" he called, stepping out and stumbling a little, saving himself as she stood up to catch him "Err thanks" he said awkwardly.

Gabi felt her eyes being magnetically drawn to his mouth at their proximity.

She stepped back; afraid she might do something stupid, and dropped her eyes to the ground.

"You don't like this one?" he asked of the top and she flicked her gaze over him, her heart beating erratically at the contact with him and flopping heavily in her chest as she saw how the jumper suited him perfectly "I kinda like it" he continued, regardless.

She was amazed how he wasn't affected like she was. He obviously wasn't feeling a spark, despite his comments and compliments of the opposite.

But when she finally met his gaze, she knew he did feel it, for the look in his eyes was so clearly stamped with desire, she couldn't have recognized it as anything else.

"Its nice" she said shortly "You should wear it" she added vaguely , thinking all she wanted to do was strip the bloody jumper off and run her hands down his muscled body.

Troy nodded thoughtfully, gauging her reaction and deciding to buy both tops as he headed to get changed again.

"Okay I'm done" he said as he paid for his items "You need sexy undies don't you?" he joked and she smiled.

"I need a decent patient" she sighed.

"Hey, I'm hurt"

"I need a few things myself, but its girly stuff so can I meet you somewhere?" she asked.

"No clothes?" he asked.

"I'm sure I can dig something out of my suitcase" she smiled as they parted and arranged to meet up in an hour for lunch.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi to everyone from Zefron, thank you for checking out my stories!**

**I love that I have this little group of regulars and those who have followed all my stories, I look forward to your comments the most because you know me too well!**

**Amy, you are the only one who guessed my fave thing about chapter 10, virtual cookies for you…let's see if you can guess my fave bit in this chapter too…**

**LOL**

**TY**

**Ang**

**CHAPTER 12**

Gabi checked her appearance in her mirror and knew she was totally wrong to be dressing up for Troy, but not being able to help herself anyway.

Her legs looked long in the shorts she had put on with tights and she had chosen a black and silver knitted top that fell off one shoulder to go with it. She grabbed her mid-calf boots briefly wondering if they went with the outfit before putting them on.

She put on her own jacket, taking Troy's jacket with her to hand back to him and she drove over to his place, taking some deep breaths before she got out of the car.

She grabbed his jacket, the wine she'd bought, a large scrapbook she had in a bag and a box which contained their dessert and juggled them as she approached his door.

Her phone buzzed right before she knocked on his door, wine under her arm and dessert balanced precariously.

"Hello" she said gently to James.

"Hey. Where have you been?" he asked.

"You know where." She said tersely.

"I missed you" he said.

Gabi laughed shortly, angrily "No you didn't. The other night you practically accused me of being a slut!" she said more loudly.

"Look, I was tired, I'd had a drink, and I was upset you weren't here…" he began.

"James, I'm fed up of hearing it. If you loved me, really loved me, you wouldn't speak to me like that. And I don't want to marry someone like you" she finished, lifting her phone from her ear and pressing the end call button, then turning her phone off.

"I thought you were gonna stand out here all night" Troy said in a soft husky voice from his door, scaring the living beejesus out of Gabi as she jumped, her box of dessert falling with a soft thud onto the veranda floor.

"Oh shit!" she swore, tears coming to her eyes as everything just fell out of her control.

She bent to pick it up, her cheeks stinging red with embarrassment at Troy having heard her conversation with James.

She tried to pick up the box, wiping her eyes as she couldn't actually see and her hands were so full she didn't have much spare grip.

Troy ventured out without his crutches and held out his hands "Give me the box" he instructed gently and she took a shaky breath, picking up the box as her tears slid down her face hotly.

She hiccupped as she stood and curled her shoulders in and it was all Troy could do not to fling the box into the lawn and pull her into his arms.

"Come in" he said, reaching out to her and she let him so he put his arm around her shoulders as he led her in, limping into the house painfully.

"What is this anyway?" he asked, peeking into the broken box as Gabi ducked from under his arm, wiping at her tears as she dumped everything in his living room and looked at him, noting he was wearing the pale blue jumper she had picked out from their shopping trip.

He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life than Gabi stood on his porch when he had opened his door. Dressed in shorts and boots, her hair soft and curly past her shoulders.

And then he'd heard her telephone call and felt like he should go back indoors, but he was mesmerized by her, by the vulnerability she showed. He didn't see that side of her usually.

Her shoulders had felt so small under his arm; the urge to hug her was overwhelming.

"It's dessert" she offered, sitting on the sofa and he followed, sitting next to her, twitching as he fought himself as to whether he could put his arm back round her.

"Was dessert" she smiled a little as her brown eyes met his and then her face crumpled as she cried again and Troy didn't think twice about it this time. He took her into his arms, gently, pulling her to his chest as she sobbed heavily.

"Shh" he soothed as she hunched stiffly under his embrace, eventually relaxing into him and her face rested against his chest so he could tighten his hold as he stroked her back. "It's okay" he murmured "It's okay"

Gabi sniffled, realizing with alarming reality what she was doing. She was crying in the arms of one of her patients. She pulled back quickly, rushing from the room and hiding in his bathroom, locking the door and leaning against it while taking deep ragged breaths.

Not only had she just called off her engagement to the man she thought she was going to marry, but she was having unsolicited thoughts about one of her patients which was not only against the rules, but unheard of for her.

She had to get a grip!

---

Troy hovered in the living room, having turned off the stove as the food was ready and he waited patiently for Gabi to come out.

For those short, short moments, having her in his arms had been like a slice of heaven. He'd felt like a man again instead of a cripple and he'd felt something very carnal unfurl in his tummy; his urge to protect her was astounding.

She came into the room, meekly peeking at him under her lashes and then he saw the shuttered look hit her face and he knew he'd lost her again. He sighed.

"It's ready, if you're hungry?" he said.

"I should go" she said.

His eyes darted to hers and he frowned "I don't see why"

"Because I never should have come" she shrugged.

"But you did. And I have something to show you" he argued.

She considered him, thinking how desperate he looked. "I have something to show you too" she said softly, thinking of the scrapbook in the living room.

He nodded and moved through to the kitchen and watched her under his lashes as he went about dishing up and Gabi came over to carry the plates to the table where they sat to eat.

"Wine, Madame?" he asked, pouring them a glass each from the bottle she had brought, then frowned "I better not with my pills?" he wondered.

"Ooh good point. All the more for me" she joked, swallowing her glassful heavily until it was empty, picking up his and sipping at it this time.

He stared at her. Was she going to get drunk?

"So, if I asked you about what happened out there, would you tell me?" he broached

"I think you already know what happened" she supplied briefly.

"Only that you said you didn't want to marry him" he returned.

"Troy…" she squirmed.

"Well I know most of it." He argued as they ate their food.

"What did you want to show me?" she changed the subject.

"The garage, you should see the clutter I got rid of" he commented.

"Don't tell me, you want me to take it to the dump?" she guessed jokily.

"There's a nice cheerleaders outfit in there you could try on…" he suggested.

She looked at him and he felt his groin tighten. He was pretty sure when he kissed her again, he'd want a hell of a lot more and he only hoped she would too.

His body sprang into life at the thought of being intimate with Gabi and he shifted on his stool, covering his lap with his hands subtly.

He hadn't been turned on like this for a long, long time. He'd wondered if his pills had killed his libido, but his reaction to Gabi told him otherwise.

Not that he was physically capable of fulfilling her in the way she was no doubt used to with her fiancé, but he'd sure like to try.

"Okay, up you get, heartbreaker" she said suddenly and his eyes went wide with fear.

"Err just give me a minute, my back…" he hedged but she wasn't listening as she came round the table and took his hand to pull him up from the stool, her eyes flicking to his bulging groin which was uncovered at the action as he stood.

Her mouth parted ever so slightly and Troy felt his crotch react even more as he imagined that mouth on his arousal and he cursed the heavens as he looked upward in a silent prayer.

"Oh" she said, a blush spreading across her cheekbones

Troy found his thumb tracing her cheek gently. He took in her exotic beauty, dropping his thumb to touch her lower lip.

Gabi stood, entranced, scared, and turned on by Troy's reaction to her. She had never expected him to be that attracted to her; she just thought it was one of those teacher-student crushes.

He leaned down into her and this time she didn't turn from him as his hand gently framed her face, his lips meeting hers with the softest, gentlest kiss she had ever had.

A delicious shiver went through her at the contact and as his hand curled at her waist, her insides turned with desire and their lips came together, tasting each other. Gabi found her hands curling into his hair of their own accord and he shifted, pulling her closer, dipping his tongue across her lower lip to seek entrance to her mouth, Gabi allowing it and moaning gently as he flicked his tongue against hers and she drew her shoulders up in delicious desire.

Troy found he couldn't stop his arms from wrapping around her petite body as he deepened their kiss, Gabi's hands playing havoc in his hair before she trailed them down to his chest and he nudged his hips against hers to signal his desire for her.

Her answering muffled groan was followed by her stretching her body upwards as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her curves into him as her tongue curled around his and they stood, entwined in this knee-melting kiss.

A loud buzzing noise erupted between them, causing Gabi to jump from him.

Troy swore at his phone, pulling it out of his jeans pocket and throwing it past her so it crash landed in the hallway.

He reached out his arms to her again, but she was backing up quickly.

"Wait, Gabi…" he began as she turned .

"Oh my god, I'm going to get sacked" she panicked, rushing into the living room for her bag.

"You're not, Gabi, wait…" he said again, following on his crutches, blocking the doorway to her ultimate escape.

"Please move" she said, avoiding his eyes.

"No. Not if you're going to leave me" he said softly.

"Troy! Don't you see? I have to!" she seemed to be panicking again because her breaths became light and fast.

"Gabi, just breathe, please, just breathe" he encouraged as her eyes flew wildly about her, anywhere but on his face.

He reached between them, ever so slowly, brushing the back of his fingers against her face. "Breathe" he said again and she found herself following his command.

"I'm engaged to be married and I am your Health worker. This is not going to happen" she said, convincing herself as much as him.

"You're not engaged anymore" he argued gently "And I swear I won't tell anyone. Just please, don't leave me yet"

"I have to go" she repeated.

He sighed, stepping out of her way and she passed him. He turned to watch her open the door.

She met his eyes as she looked up but she didn't say anything, she just walked out and closed the door behind her.

His eyes fell on the bag she had left behind, frowning as he pulled out the large spined book from inside the bag. He opened it and his eyes went wide as he flicked through, all of the clippings and photos from the bottom of his box in the garage were neatly mounted and she had added stickers and labels along the way.

He had never seen anything so amazing in his life and she had done it just for him. And now she was gone. Possibly for good.

He had to convince her that she had to keep helping him. He wasn't ready to do it all alone yet.

---

Gabi threw herself on her bed and cried. Her phone rang and it was James again. She picked up the call, wanting to finish things with him once and for all.

"Hello" she said shakily.

"Hun, it's me, look there's something I have to tell you…" he began.

She frowned "What?" she demanded.

"Look, I can't not tell you because we're engaged to be married and you have a right to know…"

"What is it James?" she practically shouted.

"I had an affair" he said and Gabi's mouth dropped open.

She quickly pondered whether she was guilty of the same after kissing Troy, but decided that it wasn't as they hadn't had sex.

"I see" she said, strangely not surprised, but hurt all the same.

She had stupidly given up everything to be with him and here he was, cheating on her

"Babe, I love you, okay, I want to marry you" he said and Gabi laughed, but not with humour.

"You are the last person on this earth I would marry" she said succinctly "I'll come and get my things from the apartment when I can get a flight" she added.

"Babe, wait…" he began.

"I'm not your babe and there's nothing you can say. I hope it was worth it, James" she scathed, ending the call and staring at her phone in shock.

She dialed Alex' number, praying she would be free to talk.

"Oh my god Gabriella Montez is that really you?" she asked warmly.

Gabi burst into tears from the delayed shock of what had just happened.

"Oh my god, what's happened?" her friend asked worriedly.

"James just told me he had an affair. I'm going crazy over one of my patients. I HATE living in Houston" she wailed

"Okay, okay slow down, one thing at a time, honey" Alex encouraged and Gabi reeled off the whole sordid story, coming to the end of it as she ate from a tub of ice-cream that she'd grabbed from the freezer after telling Alex about the kiss.

"Jesus, Gabi, you don't do things by halves" she said softly.

Gabi chuckled lightly, the sugary snack making her feel a little better.

"What the fuck am I gonna do?" she asked her friend.

"Do you think you could have something with Troy?" she asked gently.

Gabi paused "I don't know"

"Would you like to?" she asked this time and Gabi closed her eyes as her friend asked her the real question here.

"Yes I would"

"Then why don't you think it could happen?"

"Because if we got together it would cause so many repercussions- the Health board, his parents…" she sighed.

"Then you have two choices." Alex said practically, making it sound so easy "You either think he's worth facing the shit for, or you come back to New York and start over"

Gabi felt a sob erupt from her chest at the almost impossible situation she were facing, but her friend was right. She needed some distance. She needed to know if she could get over Troy and at least give him a chance to find love with someone else.


	13. Chapter 13

**Only 3 more chapters!**

**And my fave bit was when he wanted to throw the dessert into the lawn!**

**No Efron for you lot lol.**

**I'm looking for some ideas for new stories so if there is anything you would like to read then set me the challenge!**

**Thanks for the comments!**

**CHAPTER 13**

Gabi had her mind made up. She stood at Troy's door the following evening, all of her words practiced and ready to be repeated, her mind set that this was the right thing to do. She had to tell Troy that nothing could ever happen between them and hope he accepted it because if he even tried to persuade her otherwise, she didn't trust her will power to resist him.

She waited patiently for him to answer and checked her appearance, taking a deep breath as she heard noises and knew he was on his way to open the door.

She opened her mouth before she looked up, ready to begin her speech and then caught sight of his flip-flops from where her eyes rested on the floor. Stupidly, stupidly she decided to look up, taking in his tight jeans which were riding low on his hips, flashing her a peek of his Calvin Klein boxers. He had on a Batman tee top that rode up as his arm lifted behind his head as he casually perused her himself.

But it was his eyes that got her. Every time. The blue-grey pools bared his soul and she drowned in what she saw there. She was in love with him, she realized gravely.

His dark lashes swept over his eyes as he blinked and his soft generous lips pouted as he watched her, not sure what she was doing here as he frowned a little.

Gabi didn't know why, she couldn't explain it, but she walked forward, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him like her life depended on it.

Troy was shocked, not expecting her to do this, but he caught her in his arms then struggled to balance with her weight against him and he gently threw the door shut as he stepped back carefully with her still attached to his body, returning her kiss by flicking his tongue into her mouth, enjoying the exquisite pleasure it brought him to taste her, to feel her body against his.

Gabi pulled back a little and looked him in the eye as she tried to take a breath. She took in his beautiful face, his cheekbones, his freckled nose, his kissable mouth. Troy stroked the hair at the side of her face and smiled into her eyes, her face so close to his he could see the flecks of gold in her brown eyes.

"Hi" he said huskily, still smiling

"Hi" she returned, running her hands through his hair as he let her down gently to the floor, having to reach over to kiss her now and he found she wasn't resisting which was really, really…strange but also really turning him on.

She pulled back and led him through to the living room, sitting down next to him on the sofa where he took her legs one by one and undid her boots, taking her calves gently in his hands and putting them in his lap wordlessly, Gabi's eyes huge as she watched him do it.

She was about to tell him about her plans, start her speech again but she just couldn't stop herself kissing him. His hair was messy and he looked like a surfer who'd taken a wrong turning and all she wanted to do was feel those lips on hers again.

She waited for him to initiate it, his hand cupping her face as he stared at her lips, gently kissing her either side of her mouth first, then taking larger kisses from her lips.

She scooted forward to get closer to him and she felt his hand wrap around her thigh as he groaned, pulling her into his lap as she drove her fingers into his hair once more, her mouth an open invite to his tongue which she so desperately wanted to feel.

He dipped his tongue into her hot mouth, dueling with hers, feeling his body reacting to their passionate embrace and he still couldn't quite get over the difference in Gabi.

Last night she had been fighting this all the way and all of a sudden she was throwing caution to the wind. He pulled back, her calf in his strong hand as his other arm braced her back.

"You're leaving" he accused, squinting at her.

"I have to go back to Houston and New York for a few days" she began.

Troy rested his head against her shoulder as he realized what this was. It was goodbye. She was giving herself up to him because she knew she wouldn't be his health worker anymore.

He sighed "You gave up my file didn't you?" he checked.

She nodded "But I still have another patient here that I have to come see next week" she added gently, not sure if she should tell him that because now he would think that they could see each other and the whole point in her leaving was so they could get over this silly crush. Only she knew for her part at least it most certainly wasn't a silly crush.

"Then this is all I have of you" he said, stroking her curly hair through his fingers, kissing her neck and wishing they could have more.

She probably didn't know he was in love with her. He didn't think she took his feelings for her very seriously and she kept denying herself that he could feel that way. But he knew too that she had a complicated love life to sort out back home and he was willing to wait and see what this weekend brought them both.

His lips met hers again and she moved to straddle his lap, his eyes big as he watched her kneel across his lap. She bit her lip as she tugged at his tee top and he raised his arms so she could pull it off, her eyes burning into his skin and her hot hands followed as she stroked down his chest. He cupped her hips as she began on his jeans belt and he scooted forward to allow her more room then she wriggled off his lap to remove his jeans.

"You have on too many clothes" he murmured, reaching for her but she shimmied out of her own jeans, moving back into his bare lap so he could pull off her top, kissing up her ribs as he went, placing a kiss underside her breasts which were contained in a black bra, her French knickers matching, kind of lacy and sexy and it made him hard just thinking she had dressed in these items for him.

His hands trailed down her back, rounding her backside to pull her into his lap and Gabi kissed his mouth gently, almost unsurely.

He groaned as she stroked his stomach, his muscles there tightening along with those in his groin which he found her hands were brushing soon enough. She found the little scar on his tummy that intrigued her and leaned down to place her tongue against the damaged skin, Troy taking a gasping breath at the contact. She rose again and he eyed her breasts, kissing along the line of her bra as his hands worked around the back to find the clasp and he struggled to undo it, moving forward to reach better but still having no luck.

"Damn…" he muttered and she smiled against his lips, moving to unhook her bra, releasing her breasts to him at last which he weighed in his hands, awed at her beauty.

"You're beautiful" he said, meeting her powerful gaze and moving forward so he could kiss her between her breasts, his hot breath against her skin and Gabi gasped as his thumbs and lips played dangerous havoc on her sensitive skin, the sensations causing her to clench intimately and a throbbing beginning between her thighs that she couldn't rid.

Troy stripped his boxers as she moved back to remove her knickers and he eyed her naked body with hunger, his hands reaching for her as she climbed back into his lap, touching his naked member with interest, making him groan with the contact.

"Wow Troy, you've been hiding this" she murmured, reaching for a condom from her bag and bringing the packet between them as he smiled at her comment, kissing her neck, touching her hair, suckling her nipple as he waited for her to roll on the protection.

"You should know Gabi, you mean more to me than what we're doing right now" he said gently as she hovered across his lap and he glided his hand up her bare thigh, gently probing into her with his fingers, watching her face transform as pleasure overtook her.

"Your back…" she whispered as her body shifted in agonizing pleasure-pain against his hand and he thumbed her nub

"It could break for all I care" he murmured, claiming her lips again as his hand touched her, teased her and Gabi bucked against it, crying out for more as he gently removed his fingers, guiding her onto his needful erection.

It had been a while since he had last enjoyed a woman like this, and he sure as hell had never enjoyed anyone like he enjoyed having Gabi in his lap, writhing against him, riding him like he was the only man she could ever love.

His hands cupped her breasts gently, his lips enjoyed the expanse of her body before him and her moans were sending him slowly insane as she rocked, panted and moaned in random order. He pressed his thumb into her folds, reaching her clitoris, bringing her closer to her orgasm as she clenched him inside of her and Troy felt like he might never get over this sinful, sensational sex.

She was shaking and calling his name as he felt her come to her climax, his own body shooting into the condom as she tightened around him, her hands clinging to his strong arms as she let herself go and she rested against his body while they both came back to earth.

"Oh my" she murmured with shock as she gently moved from him.

"That wasn't what I was expecting when I opened the door that's for sure" he grinned, feeling she was too far away and pulled her into him.

She giggled "Me either" she admitted.

"Mm" he murmured, kissing her hair as she wound her arms around his neck "Come up and sleep for a bit?" he asked gently, scared she would disappear from his arms.

"Okay" she agreed and he lifted his brows in surprise.

She self-consciously dressed back into her underwear and his tee shirt, carrying the rest of her clothes to the stairs where he pulled her into his lap as he took the stair lift.

She giggled in his lap, letting him lead her into the bedroom, hands entwined as he sat on the edge of the bed in his boxers and she moved between his thighs to kiss him, brushing his fringe back, and their lips connecting in a tender joining.

She crawled onto the bed and he appreciated her backside as he watched her lay down, scooting under the covers where he joined her, folding her into his strong arms as he cuddled her to keep her warm.

He was falling asleep as he thought about what he could say to make her realize this wasn't just a fling for him.

"Do you know that I'm head over heels in love with you Miss M?" he asked sleepily as Gabi felt tears threaten at her eyes.

"Do you know that I am too?" she whispered back, knowing he didn't hear her because she could hear his soft breaths from where he now slept.


	14. Chapter 14

**Wow! 19 reviews. That's the most I've had for one chapter…**

**Sorry then, for this short chapter!**

**I have accepted a challenge from Amy to write a Troyella wedding story and from Just a little Crazy where Gabi is famous and goes under disguise at East High.**

**I still have a tonne of stuff to post too so keep coming back!**

**Celestial Love, you never fail to make me laugh but thank you everyone for your amazing comments!!**

**CHAPTER 14**

Gabi sat on the plane to Houston and let the hot tears fall from her eyes silently as she thought about Troy.

She'd had to leave early this morning to catch her plane and she remembered with great clarity the pain of leaving him.

***

The sun was barely up but Gabi was roused by the light through the curtain of Troy's room. He was holding her like she was precious and it made her hear ache to think she had to leave.

All those nights she had shared with James and nothing had ever come close to what she felt with Troy. It frightened her a little, how quickly she had fallen for him.

She managed to slip from his arms without waking him and she watched as he turned in bed, onto his back, one of his arms flopping out onto the bed, the other onto his magnificent chest as he turned, and a smile was curling at his lips.

She bit her bottom lip against the bitter-sweet feeling it brought her to know she had brought that smile to his mouth.

She couldn't bear to wake him; she wouldn't know what to say. What could she say? This was an awful mistake? She could, but she'd been lying. It wasn't an awful mistake. It might be awfully WRONG to have done it, but it was the best thing she had ever done.

She scooted into her jeans and kept his batman tee top on, desperate for something of his to keep close to her. She wished she could give something to him in return and went into her bag, pulling out a picture from her wallet. It was one of her blowing a kiss to camera in a photo booth that she had taken whilst getting her passport re-done for the flight out here. She propped it against his alarm clock.

She padded over to the side of the bed, reaching out to stroke his hair one last time, her heart breaking a little as she blinked back tears.

"Good bye, heartbreaker" she whispered, leaving the room with one last look back at him, closing the door gently behind her.

***

The air steward offered her a drink and she accepted it gratefully, hiding her face as they took in her tears and she wiped at her face quickly once they had moved on.

Her whole life was going to be different, she just didn't know how yet and the only thing that made sense to her was how she felt about Troy.

----

Troy awoke suddenly, realizing with alarm that Gabi had left. He rubbed his face, regret coming at not having woken before she'd gone.

He felt a little hurt that she had snuck out without saying goodbye and he sat up carefully, his back a little achy as he rolled out of bed and sat on the edge as he spotted the picture on his bedside table.

He picked it up, the bright eyed beauty staring back at him making his heart twist painfully. Who'd have thought he'd fall in love with his health worker, of all people? Who'd have thought someone could like him for something other than his body, like him in spite of his lack of ability?

He only wished she loved him, the way he loved her, but she hadn't said it. All along he'd been the one pushing things, initiating kisses. Well apart from that surprise she launched on him yesterday in his doorway.

He wondered how she did feel about him as he looked at the girl in the picture, blowing him a kiss. All he could think about was how she had felt tucked up in his arms last night, how she had felt gyrating in his lap. He ached to be inside her again.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, knowing his parents were coming to see him today and forcing himself up off the bed, leaving behind his thoughts of Gabi as he moved toward the bathroom.


	15. Chapter 15

**Margaret, I have already written a T&G Love/Hate relationship story, it's called 'A Different Affair' and I will post it here soon.**

**Amy I will post your story next okay?!**

**Kessy I am hoping that you like the ending which is the next chapter!**

**Alex sorry I made you cry LY Sebu x**

**For those of you who have been reading and just started reviewing, thank you. You don't know how much it means that my story has touched you enough for you to comment, I really appreciate it.**

**Along with everyone else who comments and reviews without fail! **

**CHAPTER 15**

Gabi knocked on the apartment door, only her handbag, a roll of bin liners and her empty suitcase with her.

She took a deep breath, knowing James would be home because it was the weekend and hoping they could keep this amicable as she waited to be let in to get her stuff.

She'd booked a small B&B a few blocks from here so she didn't have to contemplate staying here until she could get back to New York tomorrow, her flight already booked for tonight.

James opened the door, clean, shaven, his bulky frame taking up the doorway as he looked shocked at seeing her.

"Gabi…" he said, his brown eyes raking over her "I'm so glad you're here…" he said quietly.

"It's just for my stuff" she sighed, heading past him and straight for their bedroom, beginning to empty the wardrobe.

"Please, we can talk about this, babe. I've changed, I listened to what you said and you're right, I've been an asshole, you don't deserve to be cheated on" he began, his hands expressive as he spoke.

She lifted her eyebrows at him briefly, continuing her task.

"Please, have dinner with me tonight, we can start over…" he begged.

Gabi hunched against the wardrobe. She had been that close to marrying him and it all seemed so easy. Compared to the barrage of trouble it would cause to even attempt a relationship with Troy, it seemed like child's play to just forgive him and go back to what they had.

Perhaps she could bury her love for Troy and eventually it would go away, or transfer it to James instead. She laughed at her thoughts and James thought she was laughing at him.

"What's funny?" he asked.

"Lots of things. But it's hilarious that you think I could trust you after what's happened in the last few weeks" she said pointedly.

"I swear I only did it the once. I just was out of my mind with jealousy at another guy having you all to himself" he said and she turned to him.

"How did you even know I had a male patient?" she challenged and he blushed

"I guessed" he lied.

"No you didn't, you were pretty damn certain when you accused me of sleeping with him" she frowned as she thought that she had actually ended up sleeping with him, but that wasn't the point here.

"Okay I found out..." he relented.

"Despite me telling you that I couldn't tell you about my work" she said it more than asked, pushing past him to gather the rest of her bits from the bathroom and living room.

"Hey, that's mine…" he said as she picked up the lamp and went to unplug it.

She glared at him "Fine" she said, putting it back and going back into the bedroom to empty her drawers.

"Lets just have dinner" he said again "We were going to be married, doesn't that mean anything?" he asked.

"I can't believe you have the cheek to ask ME that!" she fumed.

"Okay, I get it, you hate me, you're going to leave and that's the last we ever see of each other" he sighed "What about goodbye sex?" he questioned and she grabbed her snoopy ornament and threw it at his head which he ducked just in time to miss, the figurine smashing all over the floor.

"Okay no sex" he said, hands aloft in surrender as Gabi dragged her many bags past him and stood them at the front door where her taxi driver met her to help her out with the stuff.

"If there's anything else, Fed-Ex it" she said lightly, storming back in to unplug her Marilyn Monroe lamp and giving him a challenging look as she walked out with it.

---

Troy sat with his parents as they all ate lunch and he wiped his mouth, taking a deep breath.

"Mom, Dad, there's something I want to talk to you about" he said quietly

"What is it Troy?" his mom asked as his dad squinted at him

"I…I have feelings for someone" he said carefully, his heart pumping heavily as he contemplated whether he should be telling them

"What…?" his mom said, awed

"I know it's been a long time coming" he hedged, thinking that really six months wasn't long at all.

"Who is it?" his dad demanded and Troy flicked his eyes to him, licking his lips

"It's Gabi" he admitted gently and his dad glared at him until one of them had to look down, Jack being the first to break eye contact.

"I knew it. I knew she was manipulating you!" he said under his breath and Troy frowned.

"Dad, don't do that, please" he begged and Jack looked at his son "She didn't do anything…well nothing she shouldn't have" he amended "But I couldn't help developing feelings for her"

"Where is she?" his dad wondered "Does she know?"

"She's gone. She won't be my health worker anymore, because I told her how I feel" he lied.

Linda gasped, her hand covering her mouth before she got up and hugged him, taking his hand as she sat again "Oh, Troy…" she sighed "Do you think she has feelings too?"

Jack growled but Linda silenced him with a look, allowing Troy to go on.

"I don't know. I'm hoping I might find out when she comes back next week. But if she does, I don't want either of you to say anything to the board, okay?" he checked.

Linda nodded and kicked her husband in the shin. Jack frowned, rubbing his leg. "Okay" he agreed sourly.

Troy nodded, enjoying the rest of the afternoon in the sun on the patio of his parents house, thinking about whether Gabi would come and see him when she was back in town or how would he find her?

He knew there was every chance she would decide not to come after him and he didn't want to contemplate that so he lay in the sun, allowing himself a small slice of hope that she would come back to him.

He thought about the meeting he had set up with his old basketball coach on Monday and the thought that he could finally have a future filled him with excitement.

He didn't know what he wanted to do yet, but he was going to have fun finding out.

---

"Oh my god, girl, where have you been?" Alex asked as Gabi dumped her bags on her doorstep and hugged her friend, tears streaming down her face from the trauma of the last few days.

She dragged her luggage in, checking her watch "I'm here till the morning then I have to get a plane back to Albuquerque to finish my new case" she explained.

"And what about the old one?" Alex checked with an arched brow.

"He told me he's in love with me" she admitted as they faced each other on Alex' huge and comfy sofa.

Alex gasped "You love him too, don't you?" she asked.

Gabi nodded, pressing her lips together .

"You're sure it's not just a rebound thing…" she hedged.

Gabi sobbed as she shook her head "I love his lips, the way he kisses me, the way he makes rude remarks ALL the time, he jokes about EVERYTHING and he asks SO many questions…." She reeled off, sucking in breaths.

"Alright, I get it, don't make me jealous, now" she joked.

"But I do worry that part of the…attraction…was because it was taboo. What if it's not as exciting without that?" she flicked her brown eyes up to her friend.

"There's only one way to find out…" she reasoned "But that means leaving New York for good" she frowned.

"Not yet. I'm not ready to do that again just yet" she assured her.

Alex nodded "In that case, lets get us some take out, you can empty your shit in the spare room and I'm getting the shot glasses out so we can play 'I never'" she grinned as Gabi smiled, heading for the spare room with her belongings.

---

"You better call me from this Albu-what place" Alex warned the next morning.

Gabi giggled "I will"

"I want ALL the details" she said again as she hugged Gabi at the airport .

"I'll tell you what I can without going red" she bargained.

"I want to meet this boy" she added.

"Okay" Gabi smiled and the friends parted, Gabi hugging her teddy bear as she set off into the flight lounge, missing her best friend already.


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

Troy sank down on his sofa after getting back from physio and he aimed the remote at the TV to turn it on, flinging an arm over his head as he jimmied down on the sofa in a sprawl.

He looked at the screen, seeing a runway containing an aeroplane being evacuated and turned up the sound.

"A flight into Albuquerque airport today was emergency crash landed, leaving the 700 passengers shaken, and in some cases, injured as part of the aeroplane was destroyed on landing to prevent the whole lot going down in flames…" the news reporter was saying "Flight number 107 was expected to get in at 16.40 hours but had to be turned away due to runway problems from an earlier incident…" Troy frowned at the screen. Why was he getting the weirdest sensation of panic? It's not like he knew anyone on the flight.

"The flight came a long way from Houston and some of the rescued passengers spoke to us as they were taken off the broken carriage…"

'How did you feel knowing you might not survive the flight?' they asked a poor unsuspecting guy as he was taken off the carriage and Troy's eyes went wide as he saw a familiar face in the distance, cuddled in a blanket, her hair long and messy, her face white with shock. Gabi!

'It was kinda scary' the guy was saying to the camera and Troy was urging him out of the way so he could see Gabi more clearly. 'I thought we were gonna die and the girl next to me, she just kept telling me how she hadn't told this guy that she loved him and I was sobbing my heart out 'cos I thought how unfair it was.' The guy was crying now as the presenter patted him 'Any messages?' they asked.

The guy smiled 'Yeah, to Troy, whoever the hell you are, dude, this chick loves you, be damn sure of that" he chuckled against his tears, being taken off then by the ambulance crew and Troy stood in his living room, the shock of everything hitting him in the stomach and leaving him breathless.

She loved him? She really loved him! He had to get to the airport! No, to the hospital.

If only he knew which one. He'd just have to go to the one nearest the airport and hope she was there.

He walked toward the door, grabbing his jacket and his crutches, calling a taxi on his cell as he pulled open the door.

He frowned as two suited gentlemen stood on the other side, one with a briefcase and clipboard; the other had warm brown eyes and a friendly smile.

"Troy Bolton?" the brown haired guy asked.

"Yeah…" he frowned .

"I'm Scott Bronley. I run the Health centre in Albuquerque and I wondered if we could have a minute of your time?" he queried lightly.

Troy nodded, knowing straight away that this was about Gabi and he instantly suspected his dad of going against his promise.

He let them into the hallway and he stood awkwardly, wanting to run the hell out of there to make sure Gabi was ok.

"We have reason to believe that there may have been some kind of…unprofessional relationship developing between you and Miss Montez" the suit said then and Scott looked at him in annoyance.

"If you could let me ask the questions, Stanley" he interrupted and his warm brown eyes implored with Troy's once more.

"We have evidence that you and Miss Montez kissed" he said gravely and 'Stanley' pulled out a photo showing the pair of them kissing in his doorway, about a second before he'd shut the door the day she'd come to say goodbye.

"Now, I know Miss Montez came to me on Thursday night to end her contract on your case and this…evidence…is not dated, so all I need to know is did this happen before Thursday night?" he checked.

Troy frowned angrily "Who in the fuck took that?!" he shouted, his frustration from being trapped in here and being caught out with Gabi coming out explosively.

"We don't know" Scott hedged "It was delivered anonymously"

"Some fucked up idiot is sneaking around my bushes taking photos?" he continued irately.

Scott took his arm in a steady grip "The important thing is WHEN, Troy?"

"It was Friday" he supplied "I want to know who the fuck did this though!" he warned.

Scott sighed "Thank god for that"

Stanley nodded "I think that's all we needed to be sure of" he agreed.

Troy watched as the two gentlemen left as quickly as they had come and his mind whirled with the possibilities as to who could have taken that photo. He knew his dad would never take those measures.

The taxi tooted from the end of his path so he headed out quickly, directing him to the hospital and he prayed silently that he would find Gabi there, worrying about her throughout the whole journey.

He was meant to be leaving the ball in her court so it was ultimately her decision whether she saw him, but there was no way he could sit at home when he knew he could so easily have lost her in that accident.

He asked for her on the main desk of the hospital and they directed him to Emergencies which panicked him but he didn't need to panic because as soon as he rushed into the waiting room, he saw her, wrapped up in the blanket, cuddling herself on the chair.

He stood for a moment, drinking her in, then he came toward her and she looked up as if sensing him there, slowly unfurling from her seat as she ran the short distance between them and jumped against his body, Troy catching her in his strong arms and the pair of them wordlessly held each other as the rest of the waiting room looked on with interest.

Gabi clung to Troy's shoulders, sobbing. She'd never been so glad to see anyone before in her life.

How did he know she was here? How did he find her? It seemed impossible, but he had.

He stroked her hair, his arm tight around her waist as he didn't want to let her go, afraid if he let her go this time, she wouldn't come back.

She pulled back from him, her tears subsiding, looking into his worried eyes, stroking away the crinkle on his forehead.

"How did you…?" she wondered.

He smiled, letting her down so they could sit together in the waiting area, away from prying eyes as he interlinked his fingers through hers.

"I saw you on TV" he chuckled now, thinking how weird that sounded, placing his crutches on the floor.

"Oh my god…" her eyes went wide.

"Yeah, they were interviewing the guy who was sat next to you" he continued.

"Oh my god" she said in another tone, one of realization.

"He said you told him you never got to tell someone you loved them and he said that someone was called Troy" he added hopefully.

"Oh my god" she said a third time, blushing at the memory. She'd been so scared out of her wits, she didn't know what she was saying but she knew it had been about him. She hadn't exactly planned on him hearing it though.

"Can you stop saying that?" he asked gently "You can tell me if it was just one of those life-and-death moments and it didn't mean anything" he offered.

Her brown eyes lifted to his and she cupped his handsome face as her lips twisted

"Well this wasn't exactly how I pictured it" she frowned, scooping her knees over his as she faced him "But I do…y'know…love you" she shrugged awkwardly, wondering why it sounded so weird saying it to his face.

His eyes lit up and he kissed her gently, cuddling her "I'm glad you didn't die. Or I wouldn't have the chance to say I… kinda love you too" he grinned.

Gabi smiled her sweet, sweet smile and Troy caught her lips against his, flicking his tongue against hers to remind him how she tasted.

"So how long are you in town?" he asked gently.

"Three more weeks" she said, knowing after that, life would become very difficult.

"Oh" he nodded.

"Why?" she frowned, intrigued.

"Oh, no reason…" he said innocently "I just might have a part-time job starting next month…in New York. Just wondered if you might be around" he shrugged non-chalantly and Gabi took a surprised gasp, her bright eyes showing her shock.

"What?!"

"I spoke to my coach. He knows a kids club for disabled basketball players and they need a role model. I put my hand up for the job and they gave me a phone interview and said I'm on trial as of next month" he explained "I have to go meet them next week to be vetted…" he added.

"Troy, that's amazing, I am so proud of you!" she smiled, kissing him again.

"Uh-hum" the nurse coughed next to them "This is not a make-out room" she chided.

"We're ready to see you now, Miss. Montez"

Troy grinned at her naughtily and she took his hand as she got up "Wait for me?" she asked nervously.

"Always" he promised, relaxing back in his seat, grinning at how things had turned out, still surprised at Gabi admitting her feelings for him, but so, so happy that he finally found what he was looking for and his broken dream was being mended.


	17. Epilogue

**Thank you so much everyone for your wonderful reviews!**

**I will be posting some one shots next. I have had some story challeneges I am working on so please don't be shy if you think of something you'd like to read!**

**In progress:**

**Gabi is famous and in disguise at East High**

**A sequel to Zac & Edita**

**Please keep following my stories I have 2 more long ones to post after I've cleared some one shots out! **

**But as my writing has slowed down, I will be posting slower to stretch them out.**

**EPILOGUE**

Gabi snuck in through the door of the gymnasium at the leisure centre, smiling as she caught sight of Troy in a wheelchair, showing some boys how to hold the basketball so they could shoot from their lower position.

They'd found out soon after the aeroplane crash that James had been behind the photo of them kissing, having hired a private investigator to follow her every move and somehow working through that had brought them closer together.

Troy had been living and working in New York with her for a few months now and Gabi didn't know they could last, but they had.

Every day he surprised her one way or another and he seemed to feel the same way about her.

Even Alex had given her approval after meeting him at her birthday celebration a month ago.

Gabi perched on a bench at the side of the court and Troy's eyes were automatically drawn to her as he finished up his tutorial, asking his young charges to go shower up, knowing they had help to do so.

Troy stood from the wheelchair, walking over to her unaided, but still with a limp left over from his accident. She called it his 'sexy walk' and he could see her eyes appreciating him as he made his way over.

He framed her face, leaning into her small body as her arms wound around his neck.

"Miss. M" he murmured, his lips going to hers to kiss her and he felt his tummy tighten at her body pressing into his.

"Mr. B" she returned, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Wanna make out in the showers?" he asked huskily, knowing the last of his students would be leaving right about now.

Gabi laughed, pressing herself closer to him "If you're sure your back can cope…" she teased, knowing full well his back could cope after their increasingly experimental love-making of late.

He kissed her, letting his hands roam to her backside.

"Eww, Mr. B!" one of his students called as he wheeled himself across the gym with his helper.

Troy looked round with a grin "You should try it Bart, it's really not that bad" he joked and Bart screwed his nose up.

"No thanks, girls are weird" he muttered and Gabi giggled against Troy's t-shirt as the boy left, signaling the showers would now be free.

Troy took her hand, smiling at her "Let's go get wet" he waggled his brows and Gabi grinned back at him, knowing that she wasn't lost anymore; she was right where she belonged.

---

**THE END**


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